Improving Well-Being in the Basic Course: The Impact of Interpersonal Communication Competence and Public Speaking Anxiety on Loneliness, Belongingness, and Flourishing

This study evaluated whether interpersonal communication competence and public speaking anxiety had an impact on three indicators of student well-being (loneliness, belongingness, and flourishing) as well as evaluated whether the two most popular types of the introductory communication course (public speaking and hybrid/fundamentals) impacted interpersonal communication competence and public speaking anxiety to the same extent. Survey data was collected from 1378 students enrolled in one of these two introductory communication courses. Results showed that interpersonal communication competence was the strongest predictor of all three outcome variables, and the public speaking anxiety predicted some additional variance in loneliness and belongingness, but not flourishing. Both types of courses significantly increased interpersonal communication competence and reduced public speaking anxiety, and there was no difference between the two course types in the extent to which they impacted those outcomes

Conceptual understanding of screen media parenting: report of a working group

Screen media (television, computers, and videogames) use has been linked to multiple child outcomes, including obesity. Parents can be an important influence on children\u27s screen use. There has been an increase in the number of instruments available to assess parenting in feeding and physical activity contexts, however few measures are available to assess parenting practices regarding children\u27s screen media use. A working group of screen media and parenting researchers convened at the preconference workshop to the 2012 International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (ISBNPA) annual meeting, “Parenting Measurement: Current Status and Consensus Reports,” to identify and prioritize issues in assessing screen media parenting practices. The group identified that screen media use can pose different risks for children, depending on their age and developmental stage, across physiologic, psychosocial, and development outcomes. With that in mind, a conceptual framework of how parents may influence their child\u27s screen-viewing behaviors was proposed to include the screen media content, context of viewing, and amount viewed. A research agenda was proposed to prioritize a validation of the framework and enhance the ability of researchers to best assess parenting influences across the three domains of content, context and amount of children\u27s screen media use

No Detectable Fertility Benefit from a Single Additional Mating in Wild Stalk-Eyed Flies

Background: Multiple mating by female insects is widespread, and the explanation(s) for repeated mating by females has been the subject of much discussion. Females may profit from mating multiply through direct material benefits that increase their own reproductive output, or indirect genetic benefits that increase offspring fitness. One particular direct benefit that has attracted significant attention is that of fertility assurance, as females often need to mate multiply to achieve high fertility. This hypothesis has never been tested in a wild insect population.Methodology/Principal Findings: Female Malaysian stalk-eyed flies (Teleopsis dalmanni) mate repeatedly during their lifetime, and have been shown to be sperm limited under both laboratory and field conditions. Here we ask whether receiving an additional mating alleviates sperm limitation in wild females. In our experiment one group of females received a single additional mating, while a control group received an interrupted, and therefore unsuccessful, mating. Females that received an additional mating did not lay more fertilised eggs in total, nor did they lay proportionately more fertilised eggs. Female fertility declined significantly through time, demonstrating that females were sperm limited. However, receipt of an additional mating did not significantly alter the rate of this decline.Conclusions/Significance: Our data suggest that the fertility consequences of a single additional mating were small. We discuss this effect (or lack thereof), and suggest that it is likely to be attributed to small ejaculate size, a high proportion of failed copulations, and the presence of X-linked meiotic drive in this species

Modifying effect of obesity on the association between sitting time and incident diabetes in post-menopausal women

Objective: To evaluate the association between self-reported daily sitting time and the incidence of type II diabetes in a cohort of postmenopausal women. Design and Methods Women (N = 88,829) without diagnosed diabetes reported the number of hours spent sitting over a typical day. Incident cases of diabetes were identified annually by self-reported initiation of using oral medications or insulin for diabetes over 14.4 years follow-up. Results: Each hour of sitting time was positively associated with increased risk of diabetes (Risk ratio (RR): 1.05; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02–1.08]. However, sitting time was only positively associated with incident diabetes in obese women. Obese women reporting sitting 8–11 (RR: 1.08; 95% CI 1.0–1.1), 12–15 (OR: 1.13; 95% CI 1.0–1.2), and ≥16 hours (OR: 1.25; 95% CI 1.0–1.5) hours per day had an increased risk of diabetes compared to women sitting ≤ 7 hours per day. These associations were adjusted for demographics, health conditions, behaviors (smoking, diet and alcohol intake) and family history of diabetes. Time performing moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity did not modify these associations. Conclusion: Time spent sitting was independently associated with increased risk of diabetes diagnosis among obese women— a population already at high risk of the disease

Financing U.S. Graduate Medical Education: A Policy Position Paper of the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine and the American College of Physicians

In this position paper, the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine and the American College of Physicians examine the state of graduate medical education (GME) financing in the United States and recent proposals to reform GME funding. They make a series of recommendations to reform the current funding system to better align GME with the needs of the nation's health care workforce. These recommendations include using Medicare GME funds to meet policy goals and to ensure an adequate supply of physicians, a proper specialty mix, and appropriate training sites; spreading the costs of financing GME across the health care system; evaluating the true cost of training a resident and establishing a single per-resident amount; increasing transparency and innovation; and ensuring that primary care residents receive training in well-functioning ambulatory settings that are financially supported for their training roles

The effectiveness of e-& mHealth interventions to promote physical activity and healthy diets in developing countries: a systematic review

Background: Promoting physical activity and healthy eating is important to combat the unprecedented rise in NCDs in many developing countries. Using modern information-and communication technologies to deliver physical activity and diet interventions is particularly promising considering the increased proliferation of such technologies in many developing countries. The objective of this systematic review is to investigate the effectiveness of e-& mHealth interventions to promote physical activity and healthy diets in developing countries.Methods: Major databases and grey literature sources were searched to retrieve studies that quantitatively examined the effectiveness of e-& mHealth interventions on physical activity and diet outcomes in developing countries. Additional studies were retrieved through citation alerts and scientific social media allowing study inclusion until August 2016. The CONSORT checklist was used to assess the risk of bias of the included studies.Results: A total of 15 studies conducted in 13 developing countries in Europe, Africa, Latin-and South America and Asia were included in the review. The majority of studies enrolled adults who were healthy or at risk of diabetes or hypertension. The average intervention length was 6.4 months, and text messages and the Internet were the most frequently used intervention delivery channels. Risk of bias across the studies was moderate (55.7 % of the criteria fulfilled). Eleven studies reported significant positive effects of an e-& mHealth intervention on physical activity and/or diet behaviour. Respectively, 50 % and 70 % of the interventions were effective in promoting physical activity and healthy diets.Conclusions: The majority of studies demonstrated that e-& mHealth interventions were effective in promoting physical activity and healthy diets in developing countries. Future interventions should use more rigorous study designs, investigate the cost-effectiveness and reach of interventions, and focus on emerging technologies, such as smart phone apps and wearable activity trackers.Trial registration: The review protocol can be retrieved from the PROSPERO database (Registration ID: CRD42015029240)

What do parents think about parental participation in school-based interventions on energy balance-related behaviours? a qualitative study in 4 countries

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Overweight and obesity in youth has increased dramatically. Therefore, overweight prevention initiatives should start early in life and target modifiable energy balance-related behaviours. Parental participation is often advocated as important for school-based interventions, however, getting parents involved in school-based interventions appears to be challenging based on earlier intervention experiences. The purpose of this study was to get insight into the determinants of and perspectives on parental participation in school-interventions on energy balance-related behaviours (physical activity, healthy eating, sedentary behaviours) in parents of ten- to twelve-year olds in order to develop an effective parental module for school-based interventions concerning energy balance-related behaviours.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Four countries (Belgium, Hungary, Norway and Spain) conducted the focus group research based on a standardised protocol and a semi-structured questioning route. A variation in parental socio-economic status (SES) and parental school involvement was taken into account when recruiting the parents. The audio taped interviews were transcribed, and a qualitative content analysis of the transcripts was conducted in each country.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Seventeen focus group interviews were conducted with a total of 92 parents (12 men, 80 women). Physical activity was considered to be a joint responsibility of school and parents, nutrition as parent's responsibility but supported by the school, and prevention of sedentary behaviours as parent's sole responsibility. Parents proposed interactive and practical activities together with their child as the best way to involve them such as cooking, food tasting, nutrition workshops, walking or cycling tours, sport initiations together with their child. Activities should be cheap, on a convenient moment, focused on their children and not on themselves, not tutoring, not theoretical, and school-or home-based.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Parents want to be involved in activities related to energy balance-related behaviours if this implies 'doing things together' with their child at school or at home.</p

Comparative Genomic Hybridization (CGH) Reveals a Neo-X Chromosome and Biased Gene Movement in Stalk-Eyed Flies (Genus Teleopsis)

Chromosomal location has a significant effect on the evolutionary dynamics of genes involved in sexual dimorphism, impacting both the pattern of sex-specific gene expression and the rate of duplication and protein evolution for these genes. For nearly all non-model organisms, however, knowledge of chromosomal gene content is minimal and difficult to obtain on a genomic scale. In this study, we utilized Comparative Genomic Hybridization (CGH), using probes designed from EST sequence, to identify genes located on the X chromosome of four species in the stalk-eyed fly genus Teleopsis. Analysis of log2 ratio values of female-to-male hybridization intensities from the CGH microarrays for over 3,400 genes reveals a strongly bimodal distribution that clearly differentiates autosomal from X-linked genes for all four species. Genotyping of 33 and linkage mapping of 28 of these genes in Teleopsis dalmanni indicate the CGH results correctly identified chromosomal location in all cases. Syntenic comparison with Drosophila indicates that 90% of the X-linked genes in Teleopsis are homologous to genes located on chromosome 2L in Drosophila melanogaster, suggesting the formation of a nearly complete neo-X chromosome from Muller element B in the dipteran lineage leading to Teleopsis. Analysis of gene movement both relative to Drosophila and within Teleopsis indicates that gene movement is significantly associated with 1) rates of protein evolution, 2) the pattern of gene duplication, and 3) the evolution of eyespan sexual dimorphism. Overall, this study reveals that diopsids are a critical group for understanding the evolution of sex chromosomes within Diptera. In addition, we demonstrate that CGH is a useful technique for identifying chromosomal sex-linkage and should be applicable to other organisms with EST or partial genomic information