Using a Goal Theoretical Perspective to Reduce Negative and Promote Positive Spillover After a Bike-to-Work Campaign

Behavioral change interventions often focus on a specific behavior over a limited time period; for example, a bike-to-work intervention that incentivizes cycling to work over 2 months. While such interventions can successfully initiate behavior, they run the risk of triggering negative spillover effects after completion: Reaching the end of an intervention could reduce the motivation to maintain the behavior; or an increase in the targeted behavior (e.g., cycling to work more often) could lead to negative spillover across behaviors (e.g., cycling less in leisure time). Using a goal theoretical perspective, we tested whether an intervention focusing on a specific behavior during a limited time period (a subordinate goal) triggers negative spillover, and whether superordinate goals and/or action steps reduce negative or promote positive spillover. We conducted an experimental field study (N = 1,269) in the context of a bike-to-work campaign with a longitudinal multilevel design. Participants across all four experimental conditions had the campaign goal of cycling to work for a maximum of 2 months (a subordinate goal). A quarter of the participants additionally generated superordinate goals, a quarter action steps and a quarter superordinate goals and action steps. The last quarter was a control condition which only set the subordinate campaign goal. Surprisingly, the intervention caused no negative and some positive spillover effects. Participants increased the frequency of cycling to work across all groups and the increase could be maintained up to 2 months after the campaign. An increase in cycling to work spilled over to an increase in cycling in leisure time and to an increase in eating fruits and vegetables. No spillover effects were found regarding exercising and eating sweets and snacks. Participants focusing additionally on a superordinate goal cycled to work more frequently at the end of the campaign than the control group. Contrary to our expectations, the maintenance of cycling to work over time and the positive spillover effects across behaviors did not differ due to the goal manipulation. These results reduce the concern that interventions focusing on a subordinate goal could trigger negative spillover effects and show the need for additional experimental field studies

The Eurasian Modern Pollen Database (EMPD), version 2

The Eurasian (nee European) Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) was established in 2013 to provide a public database of high-quality modern pollen surface samples to help support studies of past climate, land cover, and land use using fossil pollen. The EMPD is part of, and complementary to, the European Pollen Database (EPD) which contains data on fossil pollen found in Late Quaternary sedimentary archives throughout the Eurasian region. The EPD is in turn part of the rapidly growing Neotoma database, which is now the primary home for global palaeoecological data. This paper describes version 2 of the EMPD in which the number of samples held in the database has been increased by 60% from 4826 to 8134. Much of the improvement in data coverage has come from northern Asia, and the database has consequently been renamed the Eurasian Modern Pollen Database to reflect this geographical enlargement. The EMPD can be viewed online using a dedicated map-based viewer at https://empd2.github.io and downloaded in a variety of file formats at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.909130 (Chevalier et al., 2019).Peer reviewe

The Eurasian Modern Pollen Database (EMPD), version 2

The Eurasian (née European) Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) was established in 2013 to provide a public database of high-quality modern pollen surface samples to help support studies of past climate, land cover, and land use using fossil pollen. The EMPD is part of, and complementary to, the European Pollen Database (EPD) which contains data on fossil pollen found in Late Quaternary sedimentary archives throughout the Eurasian region. The EPD is in turn part of the rapidly growing Neotoma database, which is now the primary home for global palaeoecological data. This paper describes version 2 of the EMPD in which the number of samples held in the database has been increased by 60 % from 4826 to 8134. Much of the improvement in data coverage has come from northern Asia, and the database has consequently been renamed the Eurasian Modern Pollen Database to reflect this geographical enlargement. The EMPD can be viewed online using a dedicated map-based viewer at https://empd2.github.io and downloaded in a variety of file formats at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.909130 (Chevalier et al., 2019)Swiss National Science Foundation | Ref. 200021_16959

Risk factors for dysphagia in ICU patients following invasive mechanical ventilation.

BACKGROUND Dysphagia is common and independently predicts death in ICU patients. Risk factors for dysphagia are largely unknown with sparse data available from mostly small cohorts without systematic dysphagia screening. RESEARCH QUESTION What are the key risk factors for dysphagia in ICU patients post invasive mechanical ventilation? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Post-hoc analysis of data from a monocentric prospective observational study ("DYnAMICS") using comprehensive statistical models to identify potential risk factors for post-extubation dysphagia. 933 primary admissions of adult medical-surgical ICU patients (median age 65 years [IQR 54-73], n=666 (71%) male) were investigated in a tertiary care academic centre. Patients received systematic bedside screening for dysphagia within 3 hours post extubation. Dysphagia screening positivity (n=116) was followed within 24 hours by a confirmatory exam. RESULTS After adjustment for confounders, baseline neurological disease (OR 4.45, 95%-CI: 2.74-7.24, p<0.01), emergency admission (OR 2.04, 95%-CI: 1.15-3.59, p<0.01), days on mechanical ventilation (OR 1.19, 95%-CI: 1.06-1.34, p<0.01), days on renal replacement therapy (OR 1.1, 95%-CI: 1-1.23, p=0.03), and disease severity (APACHE II score within first 24 hours; OR 1.03, 95%-CI: 0.99-1.07, p<0.01) remained independent risk factors for dysphagia post extubation. Increased Body Mass Index reduced the risk for dysphagia (6% per step increase, OR 0.94, 95%-CI: 0.9-0.99, p=0.03). INTERPRETATION In ICU patients, baseline neurological disease, emergency admission and duration of invasive mechanical ventilation appeared as prominent independent risk factors for dysphagia. As all ICU patients post mechanical ventilation should be considered at risk for dysphagia, systematic screening for dysphagia is recommended in respective critically ill patients. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02333201)

Self-learning basic life support: A randomised controlled trial on learning conditions.

AIM OF THE STUDY To investigate whether pure self-learning without instructor support, resulted in the same BLS-competencies as facilitator-led learning, when using the same commercially available video BLS teaching kit. METHODS First-year medical students were randomised to either BLS self-learning without supervision or facilitator-led BLS-teaching. Both groups used the MiniAnne kit (Laerdal Medical, Stavanger, Norway) in the students' local language. Directly after the teaching and three months later, all participants were tested on their BLS-competencies in a simulated scenario, using the Resusci Anne SkillReporter™ (Laerdal Medical, Stavanger, Norway). The primary outcome was percentage of correct cardiac compressions three months after the teaching. Secondary outcomes were all other BLS parameters recorded by the SkillReporter and parameters from a BLS-competence rating form. RESULTS 240 students were assessed at baseline and 152 students participated in the 3-month follow-up. For our primary outcome, the percentage of correct compressions, we found a median of 48% (interquartile range (IQR) 10-83) for facilitator-led learning vs. 42% (IQR 14-81) for self-learning (p = 0.770) directly after the teaching. In the 3-month follow-up, the rate of correct compressions dropped to 28% (IQR 6-59) for facilitator-led learning (p = 0.043) and did not change significantly in the self-learning group (47% (IQR 12-78), p = 0.729). CONCLUSIONS Self-learning is not inferior to facilitator-led learning in the short term. Self-learning resulted in a better retention of BLS-skills three months after training compared to facilitator-led training

The Eurasian Modern Pollen Database (EMPD), version 2

The Eurasian (née European) Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) was established in 2013 to provide a public database of high-quality modern pollen surface samples to help support studies of past climate, land cover, and land use using fossil pollen. The EMPD is part of, and complementary to, the European Pollen Database (EPD) which contains data on fossil pollen found in Late Quaternary sedimentary archives throughout the Eurasian region. The EPD is in turn part of the rapidly growing Neotoma database, which is now the primary home for global palaeoecological data. This paper describes version 2 of the EMPD in which the number of samples held in the database has been increased by 60 % from 4826 to 8134. Much of the improvement in data coverage has come from northern Asia, and the database has consequently been renamed the Eurasian Modern Pollen Database to reflect this geographical enlargement. The EMPD can be viewed online using a dedicated map-based viewer at https://empd2.github.io and downloaded in a variety of file formats at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.909130 (Chevalier et al., 2019)