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KerenLimor

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So far Keren has created 26 blog entries.

Using smartphone technology to compare real-time and retrospective self-reports of alcohol consumption

“I Have No Clue What I Drunk Last Night” Using Smartphone Technology to Compare In-Vivo and Retrospective Self-Reports of Alcohol Consumption – RL Monk, D Heim, A Qureshi, A Price, PLoS ONE 10(5): e0126209

This research compared real-time measurements of alcohol consumption with retrospective accounts of alcohol consumption to examine possible discrepancies between, and contextual influences on, the different accounts. Building on previous investigations, a specifically designed Smartphone technology was utilized to measure alcohol consumption and contextual influences in de facto real-time. Participants reported consuming more alcoholic drinks during real-time assessment than retrospectively. For daily accounts a higher number of drinks consumed in real-time was related to a higher discrepancy between real-time and retrospective accounts. This effect was found across all drink types but was not shaped by social and environmental contexts. Higher in-vivo alcohol consumption appeared to be related to a higher discrepancy in retrospectively reported weekly consumption for alcohol beverage types other than wine. When including contextual factors into the statistical models, being with two or more friends (as opposed to being alone) decreased the discrepancy between real-time and retrospective reports, whilst being in the pub (relative to being at home) was associated with greater discrepancies.

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The evolution of popular music

radio

The evolution of popular music: USA 1960–2010 – M. Mauch, RM. MacCallum, M. Levy, AM. Leroi, Royal Society open science doi: 10.1098/rsos.150081

In modern societies, cultural change seems ceaseless. The flux of fashion is especially obvious for popular music. While much has been written about the origin and evolution of pop, most claims about its history are anecdotal rather than scientific in nature. To rectify this, the authors investigated the US Billboard Hot 100 between 1960 and 2010. Using music information retrieval and text-mining tools, they analysed the musical properties of approximately 17 000 recordings that appeared in the charts and demonstrate quantitative trends in their harmonic and timbral properties. They used these properties to produce an audio-based classification of musical styles and study the evolution of musical diversity and disparity, testing, and rejecting, several classical theories of cultural change. Finally, they investigated whether pop musical evolution has been gradual or punctuated. They show that, although pop music has evolved continuously, it did so with particular rapidity during three stylistic ‘revolutions’ around 1964, 1983 and 1991. They conclude by discussing how their study points the way to a quantitative science of cultural change.

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Cracking sounds emitted from human synovial joints

Real-Time Visualization of Joint Cavitation – GN. Kawchuk, J. Fryer, JL. Jaremko, H. Zeng , L. Rowe, R. Thompson, PLoS ONE 10(4): e0119470

Cracking sounds emitted from human synovial joints have been attributed historically to the sudden collapse of a cavitation bubble formed as articular surfaces are separated. Unfortunately, bubble collapse as the source of joint cracking is inconsistent with many physical phenomena that define the joint cracking phenomenon. In this article the authors offer direct experimental evidence that joint cracking is associated with cavity inception rather than collapse of a pre-existing bubble. These observations are consistent with tribonucleation, a known process where opposing surfaces resist separation until a critical point where they then separate rapidly creating sustained gas cavities. Observed previously in vitro, this is the first in-vivo macroscopic demonstration of tribonucleation and as such, provides a new theoretical framework to investigate health outcomes associated with joint cracking.

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Neandertal Jewelry

Evidence for Neandertal Jewelry: Modified White-Tailed Eagle Claws at Krapina – D. Radovčić , A. Oros Sršen , J. Radovčić , DW. Frayer, PLoS ONE 10(3): e0119802

The authors of this article describe eight, mostly complete white-tailed eagle (Haliaëtus [Haliaeetus] albicilla) talons from the Krapina Neandertal site in present-day Croatia, dating to approximately 130 kyrs ago. Four talons bear multiple, edge-smoothed cut marks; eight show polishing facets and/or abrasion. Three of the largest talons have small notches at roughly the same place along the plantar surface, interrupting the proximal margin of the talon blade. These features suggest they were part of a jewelry assemblage, — the manipulations a consequence of mounting the talons in a necklace or bracelet. An associated phalanx articulates with one of the talons and has numerous cut marks, some of which are smoothed. These white-tailed eagle bones, discovered more than 100 years ago, all derive from a single level at Krapina and represent more talons than found in the entire European Mousterian period. Presence of eight talons indicates that the Krapina Neandertals acquired and curated eagle talons for some kind of symbolic purpose. Some have argued that Neandertals lacked symbolic ability or copied this behavior from modern humans. These remains clearly show that the Krapina Neandertals made jewelry well before the appearance of modern humans in Europe, extending ornament production and symbolic activity early into the European Mousterian.

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EagleTalon

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Broadcast advertising of foods to children

How important is the choice of the nutrient profile model used to regulate broadcast advertising of foods to children? A comparison using a targeted data set – P Scarborough, C Payne, CG Agu, A Kaur, A Mizdrak, M Rayner, JCG Halford and E Boyland, EJCN (2013) 67, 815–820

The World Health Assembly recommends that children’s exposure to marketing of unhealthy foods should be reduced. Nutrient profile models have been developed that define ‘unhealthy’ to support regulation of broadcast advertising of foods to children. The level of agreement between these models is not clear. The objective of this study was to measure the agreement between eight nutrient profile models that have been proposed for the regulation of marketing to children over (a) how many and (b) what kind of foods should be permitted to be advertised during television viewed by children. Policy makers considering the regulation of broadcast advertising to children should carefully consider the choice of nutrient profile model to support the regulation, as this choice will have considerable influence on the outcome of the regulation.

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Reading and doing arithmetic nonconsciously

Reading and doing arithmetic nonconsciously – AY. Sklar, N. Levy, A. Goldstein, R. Mandel, A. Maril, and RR. Hassin, PNAS 2012 Nov 27;109(48):19614-9

The modal view in the cognitive and neural sciences holds that consciousness is necessary for abstract, symbolic, and rule-following computations. Hence, semantic processing of multiple-word expressions, and performing of abstract mathematical computations, are widely believed to require consciousness. In this article the authors report a series of experiments in which they show that multiple-word verbal expressions can be processed outside conscious awareness and that multistep, effortful arithmetic equations can be solved unconsciously. The results show that novel word combinations, in the form of expressions that contain semantic violations, become conscious before expressions that do not contain semantic violations, that the more negative a verbal expression is, the more quickly it becomes conscious, and that subliminal arithmetic equations prime their results. These findings call for a significant update of our view of conscious and unconscious processes.

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Origins of Lactase Persistence in Europe

The Origins of Lactase Persistence in Europe – Yuval Itan, Adam Powell, Mark A. Beaumont, Joachim Burger, Mark G. Thomas, PLoS Comput Biol 5(8): e1000491.  

Most adults worldwide do not produce the enzyme lactase and so are unable to digest the milk sugar lactose. However, most people in Europe and many from other populations continue to produce lactase throughout their life (lactase persistence). In Europe, a single genetic variant, is strongly associated with lactase persistence and appears to have been favoured by natural selection in the last 10,000 years. Since adult consumption of fresh milk was only possible after the domestication of animals, it is likely that lactase persistence coevolved with the cultural practice of dairying, although it is not known when lactase persistence first arose in Europe or what factors drove its rapid spread. To address these questions, the authors developed a simulation model of the spread of lactase persistence, dairying, and farmers in Europe, and have integrated genetic and archaeological data using newly developed statistical approaches. They infer that lactase persistence/dairying coevolution began around 7,500 years ago between the central Balkans and central Europe. They also find that lactase persistence was not more favoured in northern latitudes through an increased requirement for dietary vitamin D.

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Stigmatisation of a Formerly Obese Young Female

Stigmatisation of a Formerly Obese Young Female – SA. Tucci, EJ. Boyland, JCG. Halford, JA. Harrold – Obes Facts 2013;6:433-442 

Weight loss does not necessarily decrease the negative appraisal of a formerly overweight individual. Information on weight history impacts upon the appraisal of peers. These effects are dependent on gender and BMI. Knowing that a young female was overweight triggered negative evaluations from females but did not appear to impact the judgment of males.

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Origins of Cultivated Coconut

Independent Origins of Cultivated Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) in the Old World Tropics – BF. Gunn, L. Baudouin, KM. Olsen – PLos ONE 6(6):e21143

As a portable source of food, water, fuel, and construction materials, the coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) played a fundamental role in human migrations and the development of civilization across the humid tropics. In this article the authors investigated the coconut’s domestication history and its population genetic structure as it relates to human dispersal patterns.

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What Is an Attractive Body?

What Is an Attractive Body? Using an Interactive 3D Program to Create the Ideal Body for You and Your Partner – KL. Crossley, PL. Cornelissen, MJ Tovee. PLos ONE 7(11): e50601

What is the ideal body size and shape that we want for ourselves and our partners? What are the important physical features in this ideal? And do both genders agree on what is an attractive body? To answer these questions the authors used a 3D interactive software system which allows the participants to produce a photorealistic, virtual male or female body. The results suggest a consistent preference for an ideal male and female body size and shape across both genders. The results also suggest that both BMI and torso shape are important components for the creation of the ideal body.

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