An Ecological Momentary Assessment of Relapse Crises in Dieting.

Much of the research on relapse crises in dieting has focused on isolated lapse events and relied heavily on retrospective self-report data. The present study sought to overcome these limitations by using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) techniques to examine situations of dietary temptation and lapse with a sample of obese, formerly sedentary, postmenopausal women (N = 37) during the final week of a weight-loss intervention. Mood was associated with reports of dietary lapse. Abstinence-violation effects were more strongly associated with dietary lapses than temptations. Finally, coping responses distinguished dietary temptations from lapses. Education on the factors associated with relapse crises in dieting may be imperative for weight loss success and maintenance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of age,gender and attitudes on self-regulation in driving

Self-regulation in driving has primarily been studied as a precursor to driving cessation in older people, who minimise driving risk and compensate for physical and cognitive decline by avoiding driving in challenging circumstances, e.g. poor weather conditions, in the dark and at busy times. This research explores whether other demographic groups of drivers adopt self-regulatory behaviours and examines the effects of affective and instrumental attitudes on self-regulation across the lifespan. Quantitative data were collected from 395 drivers. Women were significantly more likely than men to engage in self-regulation, and to be negatively influenced by their emotions (affective attitude). A quadratic effect of age on self-regulation was determined such that younger and older drivers reported higher scores for self-regulation than middle-years’ drivers. However, this effect was affected by experience such that when experience was controlled for, self-regulation increased with age. Nevertheless, anxious driving style and negative affective attitude were independent predictors of self-regulation behaviours. Results suggest that self-regulation behaviours are present across the driving lifespan and may occur as a result of driving anxiety or low confidence rather than as an effect of ageing.     

Generating value across academic and professional design practice in the Internet of Things

ABSTRACT

This article accounts for how value in design research can be derived from knowledge exchange that occurs through the collaborative discourse of doing design. To demonstrate this point, the article details the arc and impact of a design research collaboration that extended over several years with design practitioners in the field of internet-connected devices. As a result of this ongoing collaborative work, a programmatic set of design ideals and intentions concerning how to construct a more transparent and ethical relationship with technology was shaped. We examine this sustained and transformative collaboration as a series of knowledge exchanges. Within each particular collaborative project, worldviews and knowledge are exchanged among design researchers and practitioners, enabling them to traverse ‘through practices’ of academic and professional design. To unpack these exchanges and how they built and fed into each other, the article examines how collaboration unfolded and produced value on two levels: first on the scale of the academics and practitioners directly involved in a project; and secondly on the scale of the larger international community of design practitioners concerned with Internet-connected devices, with whom we had shared our work.     

Short communication: Identifying challenges and opportunities for improved nutrient management through the USDA's Dairy Agroecosystem Working Group

Nutrient management on US dairy farms must balance an array of priorities, some of which conflict. To illustrate nutrient management challenges and opportunities across the US dairy industry, the USDA Agricultural Research Service Dairy Agroecosystems Working Group (DAWG) modeled 8 confinement and 2 grazing operations in the 7 largest US dairy-producing states using the Integrated Farm System Model (IFSM). Opportunities existed across all of the dairies studied to increase on-farm feed production and lower purchased feed bills, most notably on large dairies (>1,000 cows) with the highest herd densities. Purchased feed accounted for 18 to 44% of large dairies' total operating costs compared with 7 to 14% on small dairies (<300 milk cows) due to lower stocking rates. For dairies with larger land bases, in addition to a reduction in environmental impact, financial incentives exist to promote prudent nutrient management practices by substituting manure nutrients or legume nutrients for purchased fertilizers. Environmental priorities varied regionally and were principally tied to facility management for dry-lot dairies of the semi-arid western United States (ammonia-N emissions), to manure handling and application for humid midwestern and eastern US dairies (nitrate-N leaching and P runoff), and pasture management for dairies with significant grazing components (nitrous oxide emissions). Many of the nutrient management challenges identified by DAWG are beyond slight modifications in management and require coordinated solutions to ensure an environmentally and economically sustainable US dairy industry.     

Underdiagnosing and nontreatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in community mental health: A case study.

Research indicates that trauma is extremely prevalent among populations seeking community-based services. However, underdiagnosis and nontreatment of trauma-related disorders is widespread. This study explored how one urban community mental health center (CMHC), serving a severely mentally ill (SMI) population, assessed, diagnosed, and treated reported trauma histories. Results indicate that of the 72 consumers in this sample who reported trauma histories (51%), only 2 were diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Instead, those with a reported trauma history were likely to be diagnosed with affective disorders and were almost seven times as likely to be recommended therapy as were those without a trauma history. However, even those recommended therapy were not likely to receive it. Findings indicate significant barriers to PTSD diagnoses and the receipt of therapy services. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Site‐Selectively Coated,Densely‐Packed Microprojection Array Patches for Targeted Delivery of Vaccines to Skin

Densely packed dry‐coated microprojections are shown to deliver vaccines to targeted locations within the skin that are rich in immune cells, thus inducing protective immune responses against a lethal virus challenge. Selectively limiting the antigen coating to the tips of the projections, which penetrate the skin, would significantly reduce the amount of vaccine required in immunization. In this paper a simple technique, dip‐coating the microprojections, is introduced to meet this goal. By increasing the coating solution viscosity, an otherwise strong capillary action is mitigated and the desired controlled coating length on projections is achieved. Following application to the skin, most of the coated vaccine material is rapidly released from the projections (82.6% in mass within 2 min) to the target locations within the skin strata and a potent immune response is induced when a conventional influenza vaccine (Fluvax) is tested in a mouse model. The utility of this coating approach to a variety of molecules representative of vaccines (e.g., chicken egg ovalbumin (OVA) protein, DNA, and fluorescent dyes) is demonstrated. These collective attributes, together with the simplicity of the approach, position the dip‐coating method for practical utility in large vaccination campaigns.     

Inverting an image does not improve drawing accuracy.

It has been suggested that inverting an image will increase drawing accuracy. However, perceptual evidence suggests that inverting an image inhibits processing of spatial information. D. J. Cohen and S. Bennett (1997) theorized that perceptual distortions will lead to drawing errors. In the present experiment, the authors test whether inverting an image improves drawing accuracy, as suggested by art educators, or results in distorted drawings, as predicted by Cohen and Bennett. The present data reveal that inverting an image inhibits the drawing accuracy of spatial relations thus supporting Cohen and Bennett's (1997) theory of drawing accuracy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)