Energy deficit is common during prolonged periods of strenuous physical activity and limited sleep, but the extent to which appetite suppression contributes is unclear. The aim of this randomised crossover study was to determine the effects of energy balance on appetite and physiological mediators of appetite during a 72-h period of high physical activity energy expenditure (about 9·6 MJ/d (2300 kcal/d)) and limited sleep designed to simulate military operations (SUSOPS). Ten men consumed an energy-balanced diet while sedentary for 1 d (REST) followed by energy-balanced (BAL) and energy-deficient (DEF) controlled diets during SUSOPS. Appetite ratings, gastric emptying time (GET) and appetite-mediating hormone concentrations were measured. Energy balance was positive during BAL (18 (sd 20) %) and negative during DEF (–43 (sd 9) %). Relative to REST, hunger, desire to eat and prospective consumption ratings were all higher during DEF (26 (sd 40) %, 56 (sd 71) %, 28 (sd 34) %, respectively) and lower during BAL (–55 (sd 25) %, −52 (sd 27) %, −54 (sd 21) %, respectively; P condition < 0·05). Fullness ratings did not differ from REST during DEF, but were 65 (sd 61) % higher during BAL (P condition < 0·05). Regression analyses predicted hunger and prospective consumption would be reduced and fullness increased if energy balance was maintained during SUSOPS, and energy deficits of ≥25 % would be required to elicit increases in appetite. Between-condition differences in GET and appetite-mediating hormones identified slowed gastric emptying, increased anorexigenic hormone concentrations and decreased fasting acylated ghrelin concentrations as potential mechanisms of appetite suppression. Findings suggest that physiological responses that suppress appetite may deter energy balance from being achieved during prolonged periods of strenuous activity and limited sleep.

The Neotoma Paleoecology Database is a community-curated data resource that supports interdisciplinary global change research by enabling broad-scale studies of taxon and community diversity, distributions, and dynamics during the large environmental changes of the past. By consolidating many kinds of data into a common repository, Neotoma lowers costs of paleodata management, makes paleoecological data openly available, and offers a high-quality, curated resource. Neotoma’s distributed scientific governance model is flexible and scalable, with many open pathways for participation by new members, data contributors, stewards, and research communities. The Neotoma data model supports, or can be extended to support, any kind of paleoecological or paleoenvironmental data from sedimentary archives. Data additions to Neotoma are growing and now include >3.8 million observations, >17,000 datasets, and >9200 sites. Dataset types currently include fossil pollen, vertebrates, diatoms, ostracodes, macroinvertebrates, plant macrofossils, insects, testate amoebae, geochronological data, and the recently added organic biomarkers, stable isotopes, and specimen-level data. Multiple avenues exist to obtain Neotoma data, including the Explorer map-based interface, an application programming interface, the neotoma R package, and digital object identifiers. As the volume and variety of scientific data grow, community-curated data resources such as Neotoma have become foundational infrastructure for big data science.

Demand for organic milk is partially driven by consumer perceptions that it is more nutritious. However, there is still considerable uncertainty over whether the use of organic production standards affects milk quality. Here we report results of meta-analyses based on 170 published studies comparing the nutrient content of organic and conventional bovine milk. There were no significant differences in total SFA and MUFA concentrations between organic and conventional milk. However, concentrations of total PUFA and n-3 PUFA were significantly higher in organic milk, by an estimated 7 (95 % CI −1, 15) % and 56 (95 % CI 38, 74) %, respectively. Concentrations of α-linolenic acid (ALA), very long-chain n-3 fatty acids (EPA+DPA+DHA) and conjugated linoleic acid were also significantly higher in organic milk, by an 69 (95 % CI 53, 84) %, 57 (95 % CI 27, 87) % and 41 (95 % CI 14, 68) %, respectively. As there were no significant differences in total n-6 PUFA and linoleic acid (LA) concentrations, the n-6:n-3 and LA:ALA ratios were lower in organic milk, by an estimated 71 (95 % CI −122, −20) % and 93 (95 % CI −116, −70) %. It is concluded that organic bovine milk has a more desirable fatty acid composition than conventional milk. Meta-analyses also showed that organic milk has significantly higher α-tocopherol and Fe, but lower I and Se concentrations. Redundancy analysis of data from a large cross-European milk quality survey indicates that the higher grazing/conserved forage intakes in organic systems were the main reason for milk composition differences.

Children in foster care have often encountered a range of adverse experiences, including neglectful and/or abusive care and multiple caregiver transitions. Prior research findings suggest that such experiences negatively affect inhibitory control and the underlying neural circuitry. In the current study, event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging was employed during a go/no go task that assesses inhibitory control to compare the behavioral performance and brain activation of foster children and nonmaltreated children. The sample included two groups of 9- to 12-year-old children: 11 maltreated foster children and 11 nonmaltreated children living with their biological parents. There were no significant group differences on behavioral performance on the task. In contrast, patterns of brain activation differed by group. The nonmaltreated children demonstrated stronger activation than did the foster children across several regions, including the right anterior cingulate cortex, the middle frontal gyrus, and the right lingual gyrus, during correct no go trials, whereas the foster children displayed stronger activation than the nonmaltreated children in the left inferior parietal lobule and the right superior occipital cortex, including the lingual gyrus and cuneus, during incorrect no go trials. These results provide preliminary evidence that the early adversity experienced by foster children impacts the neural substrates of inhibitory control.

The Ubaid period in south-west Asia constitutes a key period of social and political change anticipating the emergence of complex societies in the following millennium. Well-preserved archaeobotanical assemblages have enormous potential to document these changes at both the site and individual household levels. The conflagration that consumed Structure 4 at the Ubaid settlement of Kenan Tepe in south-eastern Turkey provides a case study through the analysis of almost 70 000 charred macrobotanical remains. The results suggest that labour may have been pooled between households to process emmer wheat to spikelet stage after harvesting. Final processing was conducted on the roof of the house by members of the individual household as need arose. The pooling of resources may reflect the intensification of production and the emergence of elites during the Ubaid period in this region.

Episodic memory deficits are a core feature of neurodegenerative disorders. Muscarinic M1 receptors play a critical role in modulating learning and memory and are highly expressed in the hippocampus. We examined the effect of GSK1034702, a potent M1 receptor allosteric agonist, on cognitive function, and in particular episodic memory, in healthy smokers using the nicotine abstinence model of cognitive dysfunction. The study utilized a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over design in which 20 male nicotine abstained smokers were tested following single doses of placebo, 4 and 8 mg GSK1034702. Compared to the baseline (nicotine on-state), nicotine abstinence showed statistical significance in reducing immediate (p=0.019) and delayed (p=0.02) recall. GSK1034702 (8 mg) significantly attenuated (i.e. improved) immediate recall (p=0.014) but not delayed recall. None of the other cognitive domains was modulated by either nicotine abstinence or GSK1034702. These findings suggest that stimulating M1 receptor mediated neurotransmission in humans with GSK1034702 improves memory encoding potentially by modulating hippocampal function. Hence, selective M1 receptor allosteric agonists may have therapeutic benefits in disorders of impaired learning including Alzheimer's disease.

The recent interest in oxidation catalysis provides the focus for this article. Until recently, gold has been overlooked as a key component of both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts. However, the observation in the 1980s that nanocrystalline gold supported on oxides was an effective catalyst for low-temperature carbon monoxide oxidation has now captured the imagination of many researchers. At present, low-temperature carbon monoxide oxidation remains an intensely studied field, but in recent years increased emphasis has been placed on using gold catalysts for selective oxidation. For example, the oxidation of alkanes, alkenes, and alcohols have all been shown to be effective with gold-based catalysts. In addition gold–palladium bimetallic catalysts have been shown to be very effective for the direct formation of hydrogen peroxide, and this will be described in this article.

The present study investigated whether consuming dairy products naturally enriched in cis-9, trans-11 (c9, t11) conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) by modification of cattle feed increases the concentration of this isomer in plasma and cellular lipids in healthy men. The study had a double-blind cross-over design. Subjects aged 34–60 years consumed dairy products available from food retailers for 1 week and then either control (0·17 g c9, t11 CLA/d; 0·31 g trans-vaccenic acid (tVA)/d) or CLA-enriched (1·43 g c9, t11 CLA/d; 4·71 g tVA/d) dairy products for 6 weeks. After 7 weeks washout, this was repeated with the alternate products. c9, t11 CLA concentration in plasma lipids was lower after consuming the control products, which may reflect the two-fold greater c9, t11 CLA content of the commercial products. Consuming the CLA-enriched dairy products increased the c9, t11 CLA concentration in plasma phosphatidylcholine (PC) (38%; P=0·035), triacylglycerol (TAG) (22%; P<0·0001) and cholesteryl esters (205%; P<0·0001), and in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) (238%; P<0·0001), while tVA concentration was greater in plasma PC (65%; P=0·035), TAG (98%; P=0·001) and PBMC (84%; P=0·004). Overall, the present study shows that consumption of naturally enriched dairy products in amounts similar to habitual intakes of these foods increased the c9, t11 CLA content of plasma and cellular lipids.

The recent interest in oxidation catalysis provides the focus for this paper. Until recently gold has been overlooked as a key component of both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts. However, the observation in the 1980's that nanocrystalline gold supported on oxides was an effective catalyst for low temperature carbon monoxide oxidation has now captured the imagination of many researchers. At present low temperature carbon monoxide oxidation remains an intensely studied field, but in recent years increased emphasis has been placed on using gold catalysts for selective oxidation. For example the oxidation of alkanes, alkenes and alcohols have all been shown to be effective with gold based catalysts. In addition gold palladium catalysts have been shown to be very effective for the direct formation of hydrogen peroxide and this will be described in this paper.