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Responding to a prospective memory task in the course of an ongoing activity requires switching tasks, which typically comes at a cost in performing the ongoing activity. Similarly, when the prospective memory task is deactivated, a cost can occur when previously relevant prospective memory targets appear in the course of the ongoing activity. In three experiments with undergraduate student participants (N = 226), in which cue focality was manipulated as a function of processing overlaps, we investigated the after-effects of activated and deactivated prospective memory target events. We predicted that lower focality results in stronger after-effects when the prospective memory task is activated but to weaker after-effects when the prospective memory task is deactivated. In contrast, we predicted that higher focality results in weaker after-effects when the prospective memory task is activated but to stronger after-effects when the prospective memory task is deactivated. For activated prospective memory, the pattern of results conformed to the expectations. For deactivated prospective memory, after-effects occurred only under high process overlap situations in a zero-target condition, in which participants were instructed for the prospective memory task, but never had the opportunity to perform it, indicating the special representational status of uncompleted intentions. We discuss these findings within the process overlap framework, which allows more fine-grained distinctions than the focal versus non-focal dichotomy.

Creativity is a multidimensional, multistage, and time-dependent process, which can be expressed in various artistic domains and sub-domains (e.g., visual arts, literature, music, and performing arts). The present study investigated the involvement of synesthetes in art, and whether the type of synesthesia determines the preferred artistic domain. We tested 709 participants with either grapheme-color, sound-color, or sequencespace synesthesia (monotypical synesthesia) or a combination thereof (multiple synesthesia) and nonsynesthete controls with the Artistic Creativity Domains Compendium (ACDC). The ACDC measures the involvement in art on the three levels “interest,” “ability,” and performance” for the four domains “visual arts,” “literature,” “music,” and “performing arts.” Overall, the results showed that synesthetes have an affinity for all four artistic domains compared with non-synesthete controls. Moreover, the presence of multiple types of synesthesia affected the specific preference. Besides, compared with monotoypical synesthetes, the group of grapheme-color-sound-color-and-sequence-space synesthetes showed higher involvement in all artistic domains, most pronounced in visual arts. Overall, the study demonstrates that synesthesia is associated with higher interest, ability, and performance in art.

MoTiC (Monolithic Timing Chip) is a prototype DMAPS Chip that builds on sensor technology developed in the ARCADIA project. The 50 by 50 µm2 pixels contain a small charge collecting electrode with a very low capacitance surrounded by radiation-hard in-pixel electronics. The chip contains a matrix of 5120 pixels on an area of 3.2 by 4 mm2. Each pixel features a trimmable and maskable comparator with a sample and hold circuit for the analog pulse height. Groups of 4 pixels share a TDC situated also in the readout matrix. This work presents the chip design and preliminary results of the hit efficiencies and spatial resolution measured in a first test beam campaign with 4-5 GeV/c electrons conducted at DESY., Proceedings of Science

In order to cope with cognitive conflicts, attention and knowledge are required. In some conditions, cognitive conflicts can boost subsequent memory and in other conditions, they can attenuate subsequent memory. The goal of the present study is to provide a narrative review of studies from the last decade in which Stroop or flanker conflicts, task switching, perceptual disfluency or semantic incongruence were manipulated at study. We propose an integrative framework considering attentional mechanisms and knowledge structures. Attentional mechanisms can refer to conflict resolution, which is required to explain the memory benefit for incongruent stimuli in Stroop and Flanker paradigms. Attentional mechanisms can also refer to attention allocation, which is required to explain the memory cost for targets and the memory benefit for task-irrelevant distractors in task-switching paradigms. Moreover, attention allocation policies can also account for the inconsistent results for perceptual disfluency manipulations. Prior knowledge is required to explain effects of semantic congruency and incongruency: Information that is expected, or congruent with prior knowledge, is better remembered, namely by pre-existing schemata. Moreover, information that is unexpected or incongruent with prior knowledge attracts attention and is better remembered. The impact of prior knowledge on memory performance thus results in a U-shape function. We integrate the findings according to this framework and suggest directions for future research.

The genus Sideritis (Lamiaceae) comprises around 150 species, of which many are popular herbal remedies in Mediterranean folk medicine. Already mentioned by Dioscorides and Theophrastus, the “ironwort” or “Greek mountain tea” has been receiving increased attention in recent years. A European Union herbal monograph and assessment report (HMPC) has been issued, covering the species Sideritis scardica, S. clandestina, S. raeseri, and S. syriaca. This study presents results of a first pharmacognostic examination of the botanical and phytochemical differences among and between these emerging commercial species, and other, less studied species. An HPTLC method is proposed for normal phase separation of the species; this means applying two mobile phases on silica plates and subsequent derivatization with natural product reagent (NP/PEG) for visualization of phenolic compounds and anisaldehyde for a broader detection. With the help of selected reference compounds, a system suitability test was established for proper chromatographic separation. The method was applied to specimens from botanical gardens and commercial raw material in order to test its suitability for differentiation and authentication. The HPTLC analysis also includes, for the first time, S. hyssopifolia and other less used Sideritis species. The results might enable the development of a validated phytochemical fingerprint authentication procedure for quality assurance of Sideritis herba.

Einladung zur tetranationalen Tagung „Phytotherapie 2022 – innovativ“ vom 16.–18. Juni in Zürich

The present study investigates the impact of process-based and strategy-based cognitive training to boost performance in healthy older adults. Three groups trained with either a dichotic listening training (process-based training, n = 25), an implementation intention strategy training (strategy-based training, n = 23), or served as a non-contact control group (n = 30). Our results demonstrated that training participants improved their performance in the trained tasks (process-based training: d = 3.01, strategy-based training: d = 2.6). For untrained tasks, the process-based training group showed significant working memory (d = .58) as well as episodic memory task improvement (d = 1.19) compared to the strategy-based training and to the non-contact control group (all d.03). In contrast, in the strategy-based training group there was a tendency towards some performance gain in a fluid intelligence test (d = .92). These results indicate that cognitive training can be tailored to improve specific cognitive abilities.

The hypnagogic state refers to a transitional stage between wakefulness and sleep, in which sensory perceptions can be experienced. In this review, we compile and discuss the recent scientific literature on hypnagogia research regarding the future directions proposed by Schacter (1976; Psychological Bulletin, 83, 452). After a short introduction discussing the terminology used in hypnagogia research and the differentiation of hypnagogic states with other related phenomena, we review the reported prevalence of hypnagogic states. Then, we evaluate the six future directions suggested by Schacter and we propose three further future directions. First, a better understanding of the emotional quality of hypnagogic states is needed. Second, a better understanding of why hypnagogic states occur so frequently in the visual and kinaesthetic modalities is needed. Lastly, a better understanding of the purpose of hypnagogic states is needed. In conclusion, research has made great progress in recent years, and we are one step closer to demystifying the hypnagogic state.

Attention at encoding shapes long-term memory: Attended stimuli are better remembered than unattended stimuli. This memory selectivity effect is smaller when attention is switched between different tasks and stimuli, suggesting a tight connection between selective attention and selective memory. In order to investigate the neural substrate of this connection, we stimulated brain areas associated with selective attention during a study phase and tested incidental recognition memory in a subsequent offline test phase. Specifically, we stimulated the superior parietal cortex (associated with the dorsal attentional network), the inferior parietal cortex (associated with the ventral attentional network) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (associated with top-down cognitive control) with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). The study phase consisted of a task switching procedure where pictures and words were presented simultaneously and participants had to switch between a picture and a word categorization task. Memory for attended and unattended stimuli was assessed in a subsequent recognition test. We hypothesized that a relative increase in activity in the dorsal network would boost selective attention while increased activity in the ventral network would impair selective attention, and in consequence, we expected to find corresponding effects on memory: Enhanced selective attention should lead to higher memory selectivity, while impaired selective attention should lead to lower memory selectivity. Our results replicated that task switching reduced memory selectivity. However, we found no significant effects of tDCS. This result is surprising because our study was based on established stimulation protocols. However, they are in line with a growing number of studies that failed to find tDCS effects.

Selective attention is relevant for goal directed behavior as it allows people to attend to task-relevant target stimuli and to ignore task-irrelevant distractors. Attentional focus at encoding affects subsequent memory for target and distractor stimuli. Remembering selectively more targets than distractors represents memory selectivity. Brain imaging studies suggest that the superior parietal cortex is associated with the dorsal attentional network supporting top-down control of selective attention while the inferior parietal cortex is associated with the ventral attentional network supporting bottom-up attentional orienting. To investigate the roles of the dorsal and ventral networks in the effect of selective attention during encoding on long-term memory, we stimulated the left superior and the right inferior parietal cortex. Building on previous work, we applied transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) during a study phase where pictures and words were presented simultaneously and participants had to switch between a picture and a word decision. A subsequent recognition test assessed memory for target and distractor pictures and words. We hypothesized that a relative increase in activity in the dorsal network would boost selective attention while increased activity in the ventral network would impair selective attention. We also expected to find corresponding effects on memory. Enhanced selective attention should lead to higher memory selectivity, while impaired selective attention should lead to lower memory selectivity. Our results replicated that task switching reduced memory selectivity. However, we found no significant effects of tDCS. Thus, the present study questions the effectiveness of the present tDCS protocol for modulating attention during task switching and subsequent memory.

De nombreux medecins generalistes et pediatres sont regulierement confrontes aux questions de leurs patients quant aux mesures qu’ils recommanderaient, en plus de la vaccination contre la grippe saisonniere, pour la prevention et le traitement des maladies grippales, y compris la grippe et desormais la COVID-19. En medecine complementaire notamment, il existe un grand nombre de methodes eprouvees a cet effet, que nous souhaitons presenter dans cet article.

Cognitive training most commonly uses computerized tasks that stimulate simultaneous cognitive processing in two modalities, such as a dual n-back task with visual and auditive stimuli, or on two receptive channels, such as a listening task with dichotically presented stimuli. The present study was designed to compare a dual n-back task and a dichotic listening (DL) task with an active control condition (a simple listening task) and a no-training control condition for their impact on cognitive performance, daily life memory, and mindfulness. One hundred thirty healthy adults aged 18–55 years were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions. The training consisted of twenty 15-min sessions spread across 4 weeks. The results indicated some improvement on episodic memory tasks and a trend for enhanced performance in an untrained working memory (WM) span task following cognitive training relative to the no-training control group. However, the only differential training effects were found for the DL training in increasing choice reaction performance and a trend for self-reported mindfulness. Transfer to measures of fluid intelligence and memory in daily life did not emerge. Additionally, we found links between self-efficacy and n-back training performance and between emotion regulation and training motivation. Our results contribute to the field of WM training by demonstrating that our listening tasks are comparable in effect to a dual n-back task in slightly improving memory. The possibility of improving attentional control and mindfulness through dichotic listening training is promising and deserves further consideration.

People remember more task-relevant information than task-irrelevant information, and this difference can be conceptualised as memory selectivity. Selectively attending and remembering relevant information is a key ability for goal-directed behaviour and is thus critical for leading an autonomous life. In the present study, we tested the influence of cognitive load on memory selectivity. Specifically, we investigated the effects of task switching, stimulus presentation duration, and preparation time during incidental learning in five experiments ( N = 351). For the study phase, we used two established task switching paradigms (cued and alternating runs). Participants were presented with picture–word pairs on which they performed one of two classification tasks. Depending on the task, participants had to attend to the picture or to the word. In a subsequent surprise recognition test, we assessed how well they remembered the targets and distractors. After 1 day or 1 week, a second recognition test assessed the longevity of the effects. Results showed that task switches (vs task repetitions), short (vs until response) stimulus duration, and short (vs long) preparation time reduced memory selectivity. The effect of preparation time was significant only in cued task switching but not in the alternating runs paradigm, highlighting the importance of advance cues for preparation effects on memory. With longer retention intervals, the effects washed out. In conclusion, higher cognitive load leads to lower selective attention and, consequently, to lower memory selectivity. The present study provides links between theories of attention, cognitive control, and memory.

Collective memory is shared by a group and is part of that group’s identity. Memory for political leaders is a prototypical case of collective memory. The present study investigated collective memory for Swiss federal councilors in order to test the trajectory of collective memory across four different generations (i.e., Millennials, Generation X, Baby-Boomers, and Silents) in a collaborative government system. In contrast to a presidential system, Switzerland is governed by seven equal councilors who share power and responsibilities. Thus, the individual member of the government is less important, and the number of councilors is larger compared to a presidential system, which may influence collective memory. The results revealed a recency effect as well as a generation-specific reminiscence effect, but no primacy effect as reported for presidential systems. These results indicate that the contribution of semantic memory and autobiographic memory to the trajectory of collective memory vary across government systems. Specifically, for a collaborative government system, autobiographic memory has a stronger contribution to the trajectory of collective memory.

A Ph. Eur. herbal drug monograph requires for identification testing besides macroscopic (A) and microscopic (B) evaluation a thin-layer chromatography (TLC) fingerprint, prescribed as identification testing in subsection C. The main active constituents of Cassia senna L. and Cassia angustifolia Vahl are the dianthrone glucosides (mainly sennoside A and B). Therefore, this study presents a high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) method which uses the sennosides as characteristic constituents. The presented method results in a fast and simple fingerprint with characteristic yellow fluorescence for the sennosides due to derivatization with a potassium hydroxide solution. The use of a senna herbal drug dry extract as system suitability test (SST) allows for a cost-effective test control. The resolution of the sennosides zones is dependent on the extractives concentration. An overload of the analytes leads to tailing (u-shaped form) and broadening as well as change in the retardation factor (Rf). The presented method is a suitable fingerprint method for Ph. Eur. conform identification C.

Background Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is assumed to affect cortical excitability and dependent on the specific stimulation conditions either to increase or decrease learning. Objective The purpose of this study was to modulate implicit task sequence learning with tDCS. Methods As cortico-striatal loops are critically involved in implicit task sequence learning, tDCS was applied above the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). In Experiment 1, anodal, cathodal, or sham tDCS was applied before the start of the sequence learning task. In Experiment 2, stimulation was applied during the sequence learning task. Consolidation of learning was assessed after 24 h. Results The results of both experiments showed that implicit task sequence learning occurred consistently but it was not modulated by different tDCS conditions. Similarly, consolidation measured after a 24 h-interval including sleep was also not affected by stimulation. Conclusions These results indicate that a single session of DLPFC tDCS is not sufficient to modulate implicit task sequence learning. This study adds to the accumulating evidence that tDCS may not be as effective as originally thought.

For people with synaesthesia ordinary stimuli such as digits or letters induce concurrent experiences such as colours. Synaesthesia is associated with a memory advantage and the aim of this study was to investigate whether this advantage persists across time. We tested recognition memory of four different types of synaesthesia with different inducer-concurrent pairings across two sessions with a one-year retention interval. In the study phase, participants learned three kinds of stimuli (i.e., related to their inducer, related to their concurrent, or synaesthesia-unrelated): music, words and colours. Recognition memory was tested after one hour and after one year. After one hour, grapheme-colour and grapheme-colour-and-sound-colour synaesthetes showed synaesthesia-specific advantages. After one year, only grapheme-colour synaesthetes still showed an advantage. The results imply that a benefit through enhanced colour-processing is particularly strong and that synaesthesia can lead to a long-lasting memory benefit.

Understanding how consumers behave and make decisions has been extensively discussed in the marketing literature. Pessemier (1959) calls this a central problem of marketing management. Consumers do not always behave rationally (Ariely, 2010; Galbraith, 1938; Kahn, 1935).

Prospective memory performance can be enhanced by task importance, for example by promising a reward. Typically, this comes at costs in the ongoing task. However, previous research has suggested that social importance (e.g., providing a social motive) can enhance prospective memory performance without additional monitoring costs in activity-based and time-based tasks. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of social importance in an event-based task. We compared four conditions: social importance, promising a reward, both social importance and promising a reward, and standard prospective memory instructions (control condition). The results showed enhanced prospective memory performance for all importance conditions compared to the control condition. Although ongoing task performance was slowed in all conditions with a prospective memory task when compared to a baseline condition with no prospective memory task, additional costs occurred only when both the social importance and reward were present simultaneously. Alone, neither social importance nor promising a reward produced an additional slowing when compared to the cost in the standard (control) condition. Thus, social importance and reward can enhance event-based prospective memory at no additional cost.

The use of medicinal plants and other natural multicomponent remedies might be one measure to reduce the use of antibiotics in livestock. Ethnoveterinary research has the potential to identify promising natural remedies. The knowledge about remedies for livestock was collected from farmers in six central Swiss cantons, Glarus, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Schwyz, Zug and Uri. Between February and April 2013 49 interviews with 63 farmers (25 females and 38 males, aged 24–74) were conducted. We collected information on the manufacturing of 370 homemade remedies. Of these, 114 contained no plants, 26 contained a mixture of two to five plants, and 230 contained one plant species (defined as homemade single-herbal remedy report (HSHR)). These 230 HSHRs represented 68 plant species belonging to 35 different botanical families. Thirteen species were reported for the first time for ethnoveterinary use in Switzerland. Matricaria recutita, Calendula officinalis, Urtica dioica and Coffea were the most frequently used ingredients of HSHR. A total of 278 use reports (UR) were described for the 230 HSHR, (233 UR for treating cattle). Treatment of skin disorders (QD), gastrointestinal diseases and metabolic dysfunction (QA) were the most frequently mentioned uses for these remedies. Fewer uses were linked to treatments of the respiratory system (QR), the genito-urinary (QG) and musculo-skeletal systems (QM). In the categorie QA the most UR were described for Matricaria recutita, Linum usitatissimum, and Camellia sinensis. Quercus robur was mainly used to treat diarrhoea in calfs, Coffea Arabica to treat general gastrointestinal troubles, colic, abdominal pain or diarrhoea, and Arthemisia absinthium to treat general gastro-intestinal disorders, diarrhoea or lack of appetite. For four orally administered plant species (Artemisia absinthium, Avena sativa, Citrus x limon, Quercus robur) daily oral doses were determined for the first time (median: 0.03, 6.16, 0.01 and 0.58 g dry plant equivalent per kg0.75). In the category QD the most often described plant species were Calendula officinalis, Matricaria recutita, Picea abies, Sanicula europaea and Senecio ovatus. For the latter two plant species we determined for the first time an ethnoveterinary based concentration in the finished product (median: 0.13 and 0.39 g dry plant equivalent per 100 g finished product). Medicinal plants are known, and used by farmers of central Switzerland mostly for treatment of skin and gastrointestinal diseases. According to recent pharmaceutical and human clinical research several plant species documented in this ethnoveterinary study are worth to be further investigated in clinical trials with livestock.

Though theoretically and neurobiologically related, little is known about the developmental relationships between executive functions, prospective memory, and metacognition. As knowledge about potential relations would help to better understand the mechanisms of cognitive development, we investigated the development of, and the longitudinal relationships between executive functions, prospective memory, and metacognition. Eight-year-old children ( N = 119) carried out the same test battery twice with a delay of eight months. In general, results revealed significant improvement in executive functions, prospective memory, and metacognition. Structural equation modeling revealed a significant longitudinal link from executive functions to prospective memory, but not to metacognition. These findings are discussed within a broader developmental framework.

Abstract. Research consistently shows that task switching slows down performance on switch compared to repeat trials, but the consequences on memory are less clear. In the present study, we investigated the impact of task switching on subsequent memory performance. Participants had to switch between two semantic classification tasks. In Experiment 1, the stimuli were univalent; in Experiment 2, the stimuli were bivalent (relevant for both tasks). The aim was to disentangle the conflicts triggered by task switching and bivalency. In both experiments, recognition memory for switch and repeat stimuli was tested subsequently. During encoding, task switching produced switch costs. Critically, subsequent memory was lower for switch compared to repeat stimuli in both experiments, and this effect was increased in Experiment 2 with bivalent material. We suggest that the requirement to switch tasks hurts the encoding of task-relevant information and thus impairs subsequent memory performance.

The incidental acquisition of a succession of tasks is termed implicit task sequence learning. Patients with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) lesions are strongly impaired in this ability. However, recent results of conventional transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) above the prefrontal cortex showed no modulation of implicit task sequence learning and consolidation. One explanation for these null findings is that conventional tDCS has non-focal effects on the cortex. Thus, the aim of the present study was to use a focal type of tDCS, namely high definition tDCS (HD-tDCS), to influence implicit task sequence learning and consolidation. Participants received stimulation during implicit task sequence learning and, 24 h later, consolidation was measured. The results showed that sequence learning was present in all conditions and sessions. Furthermore, consolidation was robust. However, both sequence learning and consolidation were not modulated by stimulation. Thus, this study corroborates previous findings by showing that even focal HD-tDCS is not sufficient to modulate implicit task sequence learning and consolidation.

The impact of cognitive control demands on long-term memory is mixed, with some conflicts leading to better, others leading to worse subsequent memory. The current study was designed to investigate how different types of cognitive control demands modulate the effects on memory. At study, participants had to switch between two classification tasks and later, free recall performance was assessed. The stimuli consisted of two interleaved words, one word had to be categorized and the other word had to be ignored. In four experiments, the congruency between target and ignored words was manipulated by changing the distractor category. This allowed us to investigate the impact of different types of conflict (i.e., task switching, perceptual load, response-category conflict, stimulus-category conflict). The results revealed that task switching impaired memory in all experiments. In Experiment 1, higher perceptual load also impaired memory. Experiments 2–4 showed that the co-activation of two words which required different responses (i.e., response-category conflict) enhanced memory performance but only when the conflict stimuli were presented in pure blocks. Overall, memory performance seems to depend on attentional policies. Withdrawing attention from target encoding results in lower memory performance. In contrast, focusing attention on the target results in enhanced memory performance. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00426-019-01274-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Claw diseases and lameness constitute one of the most severe challenges in livestock production, both for animal welfare and economic reasons. From 2011 to 2014 we conducted five ethnoveterinary surveys in 19 German speaking Swiss cantons, and in the Italian speaking canton of Ticino. A total of 208 interviews were carried out with 273 farmers, 1671 use reports (UR) were recorded, comprising detailed information about plant species, plant part used, the manufacturing process for the end-product, dosing, administration, and therapeutic intention. Among them, 89 UR with 22 different plant species were specifically linked to claw diseases of cattle (80), goats (6), sheep (2) and pigs(1). For seven species more than five UR were reported. We determined the concentration of dry plant material in the final product (g herb/100g product; median, minimum-maximum): Malva ssp (22 UR (21 herb, 1 flower); 0.24g/100g; 0.002-1.82), Matricaria chamomilla L. (11 UR (10 flower, 1 herb); 0.46g/100g; 0.04-2.5), Picea abies (L.) H. KARST. (10 UR (resin); 24.7g/100g; 9.9-100), Calendula officinalis L. (7 UR (flower); 0.2g/100g; 0.0003-0.82), Thymus vulgaris L. (6 UR (herb); 0.02g/100g; 0.015-0.43), Senecio ovatus (P. GAERTN., B.MEY. & SCHERB.) WILLD. (6 UR (herb); 0.37g/100g; 0.07-0.57), and Sanicula europaea L. (6 UR (herb); 0.17g/100g; 0.07-0.27). Senecio ovatus could not be recommended due to the content of pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Besides, insufficient pharmacological data are available for Sanicula europaea. For the remaining five species antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties are well known, and clinical data with extracts of these plants have been published before.

Prospective memory is important because it enables a person to lead an autonomous life by remembering duties, chores, and appointments. Examples such as remembering to pick up the kids at daycare on the way home from work, meet your doctor to check the blood pressure tomorrow at 2 o’clock, or remembering to take your anticoagulants are some of the typical examples. In his seminal talk entitled “Memory: What are the important questions?” Neisser (1978) harshly criticized mainstream memory psychology because its lack of ecological validity. Neisser outlined some ecologically important questions that have resulted in a substantial research interest in the meantime. Amongst other areas such as involuntary memories, childhood memories, the function of memory for self-improvement, and eyewitness memory, Neisser emphasized that “memory is also involved in many activities of daily life. We make a plan and have to remember to carry it out.” This kind of memory has become a focus of memory research under the label “prospective memory".

Ethnopharmacological relevance The term “traditional” is well established in European (human) medicine and even appears in recent European regulations on herbal medicinal products connected to a simplified registration. In contrast, a scientific discussion of a Traditional European Veterinary Herbal Medicine is still lacking in spite of a rising interest, in herbal medicine for animals in particular of veterinarians. There is only limited systematic ethnoveterinary research in Europe, with exception of the Mediterranean region, Switzerland and Austria. We conducted a survey on the ethnoveterinary knowledge of farmers in the pre-alpine and alpine regions of the Swiss cantons of Bern and Lucerne. We compared the findings with earlier studies conducted in Switzerland and with recent and past human and veterinary medicinal literature. Aim of the study We wanted to know to what extent (dependent to different definition of the term “traditional”) the ethnoveterinary knowledge of Swiss farmers could be considered as “traditional” in a European veterinary medicinal context. Material and methods Semistructured interviews with 44 dialog partners, mainly smallholder cattle farmers, were conducted in 2014. Detailed information about homemade herbal remedies (plant species, plant part, manufacturing process) and the corresponding use reports (target animal species, category of use, route of administration, dosage, source of knowledge, frequency of use, last time of use and farmers satisfaction) were collected. To compare our data with literature, one German book of veterinary pharmacology published in 1900, one typescript of Swiss lectures in veterinary pharmacology from 1944, four books of veterinary herbal medicine published between 1984 and 2016, and one recent publication comparing current Swiss (human) ethnomedicinal plant knowledge with modern and past literature were analyzed. Results Information on a total of 315 homemade remedies containing one single plant species (homemade single species herbal remedy reports, HSHR) was collected from participating farmers. These HSHR were prepared from 83 plant species belonging to 46 botanical families. Plants of the families Asteraceae, Lamiaceae and Rosaceae were most frequently used. Matricaria recutita L., Calendula officinalis L., Quercus robur L., Thymus vulgaris L. and Symphytum officinale L. were the most frequently documented species. A total of 404 use reports (UR) were gathered for the 315 HSHR. The largest number of UR was for treatments of gastrointestinal disorders and metabolic dysfunctions, followed by skin alterations and sores. For more than half of the UR the source of knowledge was family, ancestors and friends, and for approximately one quarter the information was from courses and other educational events. For nearly 90% of the UR farmers mentioned at least one use during the last 10 years, and in more than 50% of the UR the last use was within the past year. Compared with recent and past literature and depending on different definitions of the term “traditional” as used for human medicine between 43% and 84% of all 83 and between 57% and 100% of the most often mentioned 21 plant species show a “traditional” European veterinary use. Conclusion For the treatment of their animals farmers in the pre-alpine and alpine regions of the Swiss cantons of Bern and Lucerne mostly used plants which have a track record as medicinal herbs in Europe over several centuries. Almost half of the plant species had specific veterinary uses for about 120 years and even more for at least 30 years. The majority of the plant species thus fulfill the criteria of “traditional” according to several definitions and even more up to a certain degree the criteria of “traditional use” as defined in European regulations for human medicinal products. Ethnoveterinary research combined with data from historical sources may serve as a sound foundation for the development and definition of a Traditional European Veterinary Herbal Medicine maybe even with regard to the recent discussion about a simplified registration for Traditional Herbal Veterinary Medicinal Products.

A new interpretation of the Permo-Carboniferous (PC) troughs in the Zürcher Weinland region in northern Switzerland is proposed on the basis of 2D and 3D reflection seismic surveys. The presence of two WSW-ENE oriented grabens separated by a crystalline basement horst block, confirmed by the Benken borehole, is well established, though the presence of PC deposits in its surroundings remains uncertain. The interpretation of the 3D seismic data shows a transtensive tectonic regime for this period confirming the results of earlier interpretations of 2D-lines. There is no evidence for a compressive Saalian phase (around 265Ma) as postulated for the PC trough west of Weiach. Several observed faults show signs of reactivation during a late Triassic inversion phase. Detailed mapping of the Mesozoic sequence reveals that further and minor reactivations along the border of the PC trough south of Benken may have influenced deposition of the younger sediments and the local structuration of the base-Tertiary unconformity. The findings of the local investigations are interpreted in the context of large-scale paleotectonic models

Boosting memory with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) seems to be an elegant way to optimize learning. Here we tested whether tDCS to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex or to the left posterior parietal cortex would boost recognition memory in general and/or particularly for action phrases enacted at study. During study, 48 young adults either read or enacted simple action phrases. Memory for the action phrases was assessed after a retention interval of 45 min and again after 7-days to investigate the long-term consequences of brain stimulation. The results showed a robust enactment effect in both test sessions. Moreover, the decrease in performance was more pronounced for reading than for enacting the phrases at study. However, tDCS did not reveal any effect on subsequent recognition memory performance. We conclude that memory benefits of tDCS are not easily replicated. In contrast, enactment at study reliably boosts subsequent memory.

The St. Gallen Fault Zone (SFZ) is a system of major NNE–SSW striking normal faults within the North Alpine Foreland Basin (NAFB), just west of the city of St. Gallen. It used to be only roughly known from 2D seismic data, locally displaying offsets of up to 300 m at the level of the Mesozoic strata. We present a detailed structural interpretation of a recently acquired 3D seismic dataset that reveals the occurrence of multiphase tectonic activity along the SFZ from at least the Late Paleozoic to the early Oligocene, and possibly even later. We can show that the SFZ roots in extensional basement structures that bound small Permo-Carboniferous grabens. Thickness changes in the younger sediments above these Paleozoic grabens indicate several phases of tectonic subsidence during the Triassic and the Jurassic. The Lower Cenozoic units in the northernmost part of the 3D seismic area are also offset by the SFZ. No offsets can be identified in the overlying, shallower part of the Cenozoic units. Most faults constituting the SFZ are favourably oriented in the present-day stress field (SHmax NNW–SSE) to be reactivated in strike-slip mode. The seismic events induced by testing operations at the geothermal exploration borehole “St. Gallen GT-1” (SG GT-1) in July 2013 revealed that, even though the seismicity of northeastern Switzerland is considered to be low and diffuse, parts of the SFZ have to be regarded as critically stressed. Combining the interpretation of geological and seismic data, we conclude that the SFZ represents a reactivated basement-rooted normal fault, which was active during several phases in Permo-Carboniferous and Mesozoic times and that is still active today in strike-slip mode.

Triangle zones represent typical structural elements of thin-skinned foreland fold-and-thrust belts. Here, we report the results of an in-depth structural analysis of a rather unusual triangle zone at the front of the easternmost Jura fold-and-thrust belt in the otherwise only very mildly deformed Alpine foreland of Northern Switzerland. The investigation is based on the interpretation of recently reprocessed and depth-migrated 2D reflection seismic sections. Classical bed-length and area cross-section balancing methods were used to validate the interpretation and unravel the tectonic evolution of the triangle zone. According to our interpretation the analyzed triangle zone formed along the Baden–Irchel–Herdern-Lineament (BIH-Lineament), a regional Paleozoic normal fault that shows evidence of Cenozoic reactivation. The triangle zone is composed of one major foreland-directed thrust rooting in Triassic evaporites and a back-thrust splaying from it in the Middle Jurassic Opalinus Clay, pointing to the importance of secondary detachments. Steeply dipping secondary reverse faults next to the triangle zone suggest reactivation of pre-existing normal faults. The formation of the thrust triangle is considered to relate to thin-skinned foreland deformation in Late Miocene time. Strain estimations of the thrust triangle along-strike show a laterally very uniform amount of shortening, which is in contrast to the southward adjacent Jura fold-and-thrust belt. We interpret this constant shortening to represent the maximum contractional strain attainable by the specific geometry of the BIH triangle zone. At this point, the complex structure became mechanically ineffective and further shortening led to the formation of new contractional structures in its hinterland. This kinematic hypothesis suggests an early-stage formation of the BIH triangle zone followed by back stepping of the deformation front. As such, it challenges the classical view of a purely forward-breaking sequence for the Jura fold-and-thrust belt in the northwestern foreland of the Alps.

The goal of this study was to investigate the impact of circadian arousal on prospective memory performance as a function of age. We tested a younger (18–34 years) and an older group (56– 95 years) of participants on and off peak with regard to their circadian arousal patterns in a computer based laboratory experi ment. For the prospective memory task participants had to press a particular key whenever specific target words appeared in an ongoing concreteness judgment task. The results showed that prospective memory performance was better on than off peak in younger but not older participants. Younger participants con sistently outperformed older participants in all conditions. We conclude that prospective remembering underlies time of day effects which most likely reflect controlled processes.

Abstract. This study investigated the empirical differentiation of prospective memory, executive functions, and metacognition and their structural relationships in 119 elementary school children (M = 95 months, SD = 4.8 months). These cognitive abilities share many characteristics on the theoretical level and are all highly relevant in many everyday contexts when intentions must be executed. Nevertheless, their empirical relationships have not been examined on the latent level, although an empirical approach would contribute to our knowledge concerning the differentiation of cognitive abilities during childhood. We administered a computerized event-based prospective memory task, three executive function tasks (updating, inhibition, shifting), and a metacognitive control task in the context of spelling. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the three cognitive abilities are already empirically differentiable in young elementary school children. At the same time, prospective memory and executive functions were found to be strongly related, and there was also a close link between prospective memory and metacognitive control. Furthermore, executive functions and metacognitive control were marginally significantly related. The findings are discussed within a framework of developmental differentiation and conceptual similarities and differences.

Prospective memory is the ability to remember an intention at an appropriate moment in the future. Prospective memory tasks can be more or less important. Previously, importance was manipulated by emphasizing the importance of the prospective memory task relative to the ongoing task it was embedded in. This resulted in better prospective memory performance but also ongoing task costs. In the present study, we simply instructed one group of participants that the prospective memory task was important (i.e., absolute importance instruction) and compared them to a group with relative importance instructions and a control group. The results showed that absolute importance lead to an increase in prospective memory performance without enhancing ongoing task costs, whereas relative importance resulted in both increased prospective memory performance and ongoing task costs. Thus, prospective memory can be enhanced without ongoing task costs, which is particularly crucial for safety-work contexts.

To investigate, in two separate studies, whether amnesic patients with a severe memory impairment can learn to perform a habitual prospective memory task when they receive immediate feedback on prospective memory failures (Study 1) and whether amnesic patients are able to benefit from previous habitual prospective memory performance after a 24-h retention interval.A prospective memory task was embedded in a lexical decision task (Study 1) and in a perceptual discrimination task (Study 2). Performance was compared across test halves. Participants received immediate performance feedback on prospective memory failures that served as a reminder for the prospective memory task. A retest was performed after 24 h in Study 2, but without immediate feedback in the first test half.In Study 1, amnesic patients performed at a lower level than the control group, but they improved significantly across the experiment. In Study 2, the results of the first session replicated this pattern. The results of the second session showed a performance breakdown in amnesic patients. However, one single reminder was enough to boost performance again on the level of the second part of day one.This indicates that amnesic patients have residual prospective memory capacities and that providing immediate feedback is a promising strategy to draw on these capacities.