Identifying the Behavioral Intent to Use Social Media through the application of UTAUT in ANR and Turfgrass Extension

Little research exists on the role Extension Agricultural and Natural Resources professionals play in communicating information about new turfgrass cultivars. In an effort to analyze behavioral intentions related to social media and its use in the turfgrass industry, the researchers drew from the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). A pilot instrument was developed to measure the intent of University researchers and county-based Extension professionals to use social media to disseminate turfgrass information, as well as their use of social media for seeking turfgrass information. This case study examined the role of county-based ANR Extension professionals across six states, analyzing their role as either creators or disseminators of ANR and turfgrass information, their intent to use social media, and their use of these communications to engage with ANR and turfgrass information. Findings of this study show that Facebook is the primary communications channel used by county-based Extension professionals. Further, it has been determined that the role of the county-based Extension professional in “creating” verses “using” previously established research-based information to disseminate to clientele is not well-defined. Broader implications include examination of performance expectations of county-based personnel related to their use of social media for communicating turfgrass information

Sustaining rare marine microorganisms: macroorganisms as repositories and dispersal agents of microbial diversity

Recent analyses revealed that most of the biodiversity observed in marine microbial communities is represented by organisms with low abundance but, nonetheless essential for ecosystem dynamics and processes across both temporal and spatial scales. Surprisingly, few studies have considered the effect of macroorganism-microbe interactions on the ecology and distribution dynamics of rare microbial taxa. In this review, we synthesize several lines of evidence that these relationships cannot be neglected any longer. First, we provide empirical support that the microbiota of macroorganisms represents a significant part of marine bacterial biodiversity and that host-microbe interactions benefit to certain microbial populations which are part of the rare biosphere (i.e., opportunistic copiotrophic organisms). Second, we reveal the major role that macroorganisms may have on the dispersal and the geographic distribution of microbes. Third, we introduce an innovative and integrated view of the interactions between microbes and macroorganisms, namely sustaining the rares, which suggests that macroorganisms favor the maintenance of marine microbial diversity and are involved in the regulation of its richness and dynamics. Finally, we show how this hypothesis complements existing theories in microbial ecology and offers new perspectives about the importance of macroorganisms for the microbial biosphere, particularly the rare members

Changing perceptions of hunger on a high nutrient density diet

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>People overeat because their hunger directs them to consume more calories than they require. The purpose of this study was to analyze the changes in experience and perception of hunger before and after participants shifted from their previous usual diet to a high nutrient density diet.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a descriptive study conducted with 768 participants primarily living in the United States who had changed their dietary habits from a low micronutrient to a high micronutrient diet. Participants completed a survey rating various dimensions of hunger (physical symptoms, emotional symptoms, and location) when on their previous usual diet versus the high micronutrient density diet. Statistical analysis was conducted using non-parametric tests.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Highly significant differences were found between the two diets in relation to all physical and emotional symptoms as well as the location of hunger. Hunger was not an unpleasant experience while on the high nutrient density diet, was well tolerated and occurred with less frequency even when meals were skipped. Nearly 80% of respondents reported that their experience of hunger had changed since starting the high nutrient density diet, with 51% reporting a dramatic or complete change in their experience of hunger.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A high micronutrient density diet mitigates the unpleasant aspects of the experience of hunger even though it is lower in calories. Hunger is one of the major impediments to successful weight loss. Our findings suggest that it is not simply the caloric content, but more importantly, the micronutrient density of a diet that influences the experience of hunger. It appears that a high nutrient density diet, after an initial phase of adjustment during which a person experiences "toxic hunger" due to withdrawal from pro-inflammatory foods, can result in a sustainable eating pattern that leads to weight loss and improved health. A high nutrient density diet provides benefits for long-term health as well as weight loss. Because our findings have important implications in the global effort to control rates of obesity and related chronic diseases, further studies are needed to confirm these preliminary results.</p

Coffee Intake and Risk of Incident Diabetes in Puerto Rican Men: Results from the Puerto Rico Heart Health Program

Objective: To study prospectively the association of coffee intake with incident diabetes in the Puerto Rico Heart Health Program cohort, comprising 9824 middle-aged men (aged 35-79 years). Methods: Of 9824 men, 3869 did not provide a fasting blood sample at baseline, 1095 had prevalent diabetes and 131 were not given fasting glucose tests at any subsequent study visit. Thus, the present analysis includes 4685 participants. Diabetes was ascertained at baseline and at two study visits between 1968 and 1975 using fasting glucose tests and self-reports of physician-diagnosed diabetes or use of insulin or hypoglycaemic medication. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association of coffee intake with risk of incident diabetes while adjusting for covariates (age, BMI, physical activity, smoking, education, alcohol intake, family history of diabetes, intakes of milk and sugar). Results: Five hundred and nineteen participants met the criteria for incident diabetes. Compared with those reporting intake of 1?2 servings of coffee/d, coffee abstainers were at reduced risk (OR = 0·64; 95 % CI 0·43, 0·94). Among coffee drinkers, there was a significant trend of decreasing risk by intake (P = 0·02); intake of ≥4 servings/d was associated with an odds ratio of 0·75 (95 % CI 0·58, 0·97).. Conclusions: Study findings support a protective effect of coffee intake on diabetes risk, while also suggesting that abstainers may be at reduced risk

A preliminary comparative study of drawings produced under hypnosis and in a simulated state by both MPD and non-MPD adults

p. 107-112In a pilot study designed to determine if there is a difference in the artwork of MPD and non-MPD adults when developmental stages of artistic growth are compared, both groups of subjects were assessed under two conditions. Each subject was asked to complete a set of drawings while they were pretending to be certain ages (5, 9, 12, and 16), i.e., in a simulated state. A second set of drawings was completed while subjects were hypnotized and age regressed to the same ages of 5, 9, 12, and 16. Ages for the simulated and hypnotically age regressed states were selected based on earlier developmental studies of artwork. Each age selected represents a different stage of artistic growth that can be identified by characteristics found in the form of artwork (noted in the linear qualities, spatial organization, and use of detail within the artwork). The Mann Whitney U test, when applied to scores representing developmental characteristics in artwork from both the simulated and hypnotic states, showed a difference at the p < .006 level (significant) and p < .002 level, respectively. Non-MPD subjects scored higher, in the stage four through stage six range. MPD subjects' scores showed greater diversity, with all six stages of artistic growth being represented. This diversity in MPD scores suggests that an age regression, or a phenomenon akin to it, occurs in MPD subjects but is not apparent in non-MPD subjects regardless of instructions to simulate or to follow a protocol instructing them to age regress hypnotically

Data Sharing in the Context of Community-engaged Research: What about Reciprocity and Engagement?

Data sharing, increasingly required by funders and publishers, makes data accessible to researchers worldwide. This can challenge expectations of participants and communities who agreed to support a research project only in the context of hard-earned relationships of trust and reciprocity. We present case studies and invite suggestions for new policies and practices

Stability of 15 estrogens and estrogen metabolites in urine samples under processing and storage conditions typically used in epidemiologic studies.

BACKGROUND: In preparation for large-scale epidemiologic studies of the role of estrogen metabolism in the etiology of breast and other cancers, we examined the stability of estrogens and estrogen metabolites (EM) in urine during processing and storage protocols. METHODS: Fifteen EM were measured using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in first morning urines from 3 premenopausal women. Linear regression was used to model log EM concentrations for each woman, with and without adding ascorbic acid (0.1% w/v), during storage at 4°C (7-8 time points, up to 48 hours), during long-term storage at -80°C (10 time points, up to 1 year), and by freeze-thaw cycles (up to 3). RESULTS: Without ascorbic acid, concentrations (pmol/mL) of nearly all EM changed CONCLUSIONS: Given the large inter-individual variability in urinary EM concentrations, changes of the magnitude observed here are unlikely to cause substantial misclassification. Furthermore, processing and storage conditions studied here are adequate for use in epidemiologic studies