Playing 'Tetris' reduces the strength, frequency and vividness of naturally occurring cravings.

Elaborated Intrusion Theory (EI) postulates that imagery is central to craving, therefore a visually based task should decrease craving and craving imagery. This study provides the first laboratory test of this hypothesis in naturally occurring, rather than artificially induced, cravings. Participants reported if they were experiencing a craving and rated the strength, vividness and intrusiveness of their craving. They then either played 'Tetris' or they waited for a computer program to load (they were told it would load, but it was designed not to). Before task completion, craving scores between conditions did not differ; after, however, participants who had played 'Tetris' had significantly lower craving and less vivid craving imagery. The findings support EI theory, showing that a visuospatial working memory load reduces naturally occurring cravings, and that Tetris might be a useful task for tackling cravings outside the laboratory. Methodologically, the findings show that craving can be studied in the laboratory without using craving induction procedures

Segal-type algebraic models of n-types

For each n\geq 1 we introduce two new Segal-type models of n-types of topological spaces: weakly globular n-fold groupoids, and a lax version of these. We show that any n-type can be represented up to homotopy by such models via an explicit algebraic fundamental n-fold groupoid functor. We compare these models to Tamsamani's weak n-groupoids, and extract from them a model for (k-1)connected n-typesComment: Added index of terminology and notation. Minor amendments and added details is some definitions and proofs. Some typos correcte

An attentional control task reduces intrusive thoughts about smoking.

INTRODUCTION: Attentional control tasks such as body scanning and following isometric exercise instructions have been shown to reduce smoking cravings, apparently by reducing stress (Ussher, M., Cropley, M., Playle, S., Mohidin, R., & West, R. [2009]. Effect of isometric exercise and body scanning on cigarette cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Addiction, 104, 1251-1257. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2009.02605.x). Related work based upon elaborated intrusion theory (Kavanagh, D. J., Andrade, J., & May, J. [2005]. Imaginary relish and exquisite torture: The elaborated intrusion theory of desire. Psychological Review, 112, 446-467. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.112.2.446) has shown that similar tasks can reduce hungry participants' involuntary food-related thoughts (May, J., Andrade, J., Batey, H., Berry, L.-M., & Kavanagh, D. [2010]. Less food for thought: Impact of attentional instructions on intrusive thoughts about snack foods. Appetite, 55, 279-287. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2010.06.014). This study tests the effect of body scanning instructions upon smoking-related thoughts as well as craving. METHODS: Twenty-seven smokers took part in 2 counterbalanced sessions, on different days, having been asked to abstain from smoking for 2 hr. In each session, they followed audio instructions for three 10-min blocks during which their thoughts were probed 10 times. In the first and third blocks, they were instructed to let their mind wander; during the second block of the control session, they also let their mind wander, but in the experimental session, they followed body scanning instructions. "Smoking thought frequency" was assessed using thought probes; "Craving" was measured using Factor 1 of the Questionnaire on Smoking Urges (Tiffany, S. T., & Drobes, D. J. [1991]. The development and initial validation of a questionnaire on smoking urges. British Journal of Addiction, 86, 1467-1476. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.1991.tb01732.x). RESULTS: Participants reported fewer smoking-related thoughts and lower smoking cravings in the body scanning block of the experimental session, whereas they rose in the comparable mind-wandering block of the control session. The reduction in thoughts during the body scanning correlated with the corresponding reduction in craving. CONCLUSIONS: Body scanning reduces cravings and reduces the frequency or shortens the duration of smoking thoughts. Attentional control strategies may form a useful part of smoking cessation practices

Economic Impact of Foreign-owned Firms in the EU and Germany. Bertelsmann Policy Brief #2020/02

In times of Trump and Brexit, protectionist tendencies seem to be a global trend. The advantages that economic interconnectedness implies are increasingly receding into the background. Foreign-owned firms in the EU and Germany, however, make a considerable contribution to employment and gross domestic product (GDP). Nowadays

Surgical interventions for the early management of Bell's palsy

Background: Bell's palsy is an acute paralysis of one side of the face of unknown aetiology. Bell's palsy should only be used as a diagnosis in the absence of all other pathology. As the proposed pathophysiology is swelling and entrapment of the nerve, some surgeons suggest surgical decompression of the nerve as a possible management option.Objectives: The objective of this review was to assess the effectiveness of surgery in the management of Bell's palsy and to compare this to outcomes of medical management.Search strategy: We searched the Cochrane Neuromuscular Disease Group Specialized Register (23 November 2010). We also searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (23 November in The Cochrane Library, Issue 4 2010). We adapted this strategy to search MEDLINE (January 1966 to November 2010) and EMBASE (January 1980 to November 2010).Selection criteria: We included all randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials involving any surgical intervention for Bell's palsy.Data collection and analysis: Two review authors independently assessed whether trials identified from the search strategy were eligible for inclusion. Two review authors assessed trial quality and extracted data independently.Main results: Two trials with a total of 69 participants met the inclusion criteria. The first study considered the treatment of 403 patients but only included 44 in their surgical study. These were randomised into a surgical and non surgical group. The second study had 25 participants which they randomly allocated into surgical or control groups. The nerves of all the surgical group participants in both studies were decompressed using a retroauricular approach. The primary outcome was recovery of facial palsy at 12 months. The first study showed that both the operated and non operated groups had comparable facial nerve recovery at nine months. This study did not statistically compare the groups but the scores and size of the groups suggested that statistically significant differences are unlikely. The second study reported no statistically significant differences between their operated and control groups. One operated patient in the first study had 20 dB sensorineural hearing loss and persistent vertigo.Authors' conclusions: There is only very low quality evidence from randomised controlled trials and this is insufficient to decide whether surgical intervention is beneficial or harmful in the management of Bell's palsy. Further research into the role of surgical intervention is unlikely to be performed because spontaneous recovery occurs in most cases.</p

Exploiting deep neural networks and head movements for binaural localisation of multiple speakers in reverberant conditions

This paper presents a novel machine-hearing system that ex- ploits deep neural networks (DNNs) and head movements for binaural localisation of multiple speakers in reverberant conditions. DNNs are used to map binaural features, consisting of the complete cross-correlation function (CCF) and interaural level differences (ILDs), to the source azimuth. Our approach was evaluated using a localisation task in which sources were located in a full 360-degree azimuth range. As a result, front- back confusions often occurred due to the similarity of binaural features in the front and rear hemifields. To address this, a head movement strategy was incorporated in the DNN-based model to help reduce the front-back errors. Our experiments show that, compared to a system based on a Gaussian mixture model (GMM) classifier, the proposed DNN system substantially re- duces localisation errors under challenging acoustic scenarios in which multiple speakers and room reverberation are present

Homotopy Normal Maps

Normal maps between discrete groups $N\rightarrow G$ were characterized [FS] as those which induce a compatible topological group structure on the homotopy quotient $EN\times_N G$. Here we deal with topological group (or loop) maps $N\rightarrow G$ being normal in the same sense as above and hence forming a homotopical analogue to the inclusion of a topological normal subgroup in a reasonable way. We characterize these maps by a compatible simplicial loop space structure on $Bar_\bullet(N,G)$, invariant under homotopy monoidal functors, e.g. Localizations and Completions. In the course of characterizing homotopy normality, we define a notion of a "homotopy action" similar to an $A_{\infty}$ action on a space, but phrased in terms of Segal's 'special $\Delta-$spaces' and seem to be of importance on its own right. As an application of the invariance of normal maps, we give a very short proof to a theorem of Dwyer and Farjoun namely that a localization by a suspended map of a principal fibration of connected spaces is again principal.Comment: This paper appeared under "Matan Prezma"; later papers of the author appear under "Matan Prasma

A Simulation Study on Multicomponent Lipid Bilayer

Simulation of a multicomponent lipid bilayer having a fixed percentage of cholesterol is done to study phase transition leading to domain formation. The concept of random lattice has been used in simulation to account for the coupling between the internal and translational degrees of freedom of lipid molecules. Considering a canonical ensemble, dissimilar lipid molecules are allowed to exchange their positions in the lattice subject to standard metropolis algorithm. The steps involved in the process effectively takes into account for the movement of sphingolipids and cholesterol molecules helping formation of cholesterol rich domains of saturated lipids as found in natural membranes

Exploiting Deep Neural Networks and Head Movements for Robust Binaural Localisation of Multiple Sources in Reverberant Environments

This paper presents a novel machine-hearing system that exploits deep neural networks (DNNs) and head movements for robust binaural localisation of multiple sources in reverberant environments. DNNs are used to learn the relationship between the source azimuth and binaural cues, consisting of the complete cross-correlation function (CCF) and interaural level differences (ILDs). In contrast to many previous binaural hearing systems, the proposed approach is not restricted to localisation of sound sources in the frontal hemifield. Due to the similarity of binaural cues in the frontal and rear hemifields, front-back confusions often occur. To address this, a head movement strategy is incorporated in the localisation model to help reduce the front-back errors. The proposed DNN system is compared to a Gaussian mixture model (GMM) based system that employs interaural time differences (ITDs) and ILDs as localisation features. Our experiments show that the DNN is able to exploit information in the CCF that is not available in the ITD cue, which together with head movements substantially improves localisation accuracies under challenging acoustic scenarios in which multiple talkers and room reverberation are present