Marathon training improves perceived stress, self-efficacy, and aerobic fitness in adolescents

textLack of physical activity among adolescents in the United States is leading to a concerning pattern of mental and physical health outcomes. Physical activity interventions, especially those that take place during school hours, have attempted to combat this trend but results have been inconsistent. The current study is a program evaluation of an existing physical activity intervention designed to train adolescents to complete a half or full marathon within five months. No previous studies have examined this mode of physical activity in the adolescent population, but anecdotal responses to this program justify a quantitative analysis. Results showed that participants who completed the program significantly increased their aerobic fitness. Participants also significantly reduced their perceived stress, and significantly increased their enjoyment and self-efficacy for exercise. The results are discussed in the broader context of adolescent physical and psychological health, and recommendations are made for future research.Kinesiology and Health Educatio

The moderating effect of stress on the relationship between air pollution and self-rated health in minorities

Minorities have long been discriminated against in the United States, and redlining policies pursued in the 1920s-60s prevented African-Americans from moving outside polluted inner city neighborhoods. This resulted in the siting of many environmentally hazardous facilities in these neighborhoods, exposing minorities to increased levels of air pollution that persist today. Exposure to air pollution is associated with low birth weight, asthma, diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, and obesity. Minorities also experience higher levels of perceived discrimination, a reliable predictor of chronic stress. Chronic stress leads to constant output of the stress hormone cortisol, which increases blood pressure, insulin resistance, cholesterol, and weight, and decreases immune function and memory. The effects of a lifetime of increased stress are hypothesized to compound the effects of disproportionate exposure to air pollution and make African-Americans more susceptible to diabetes, heart disease, stroke, obesity, and asthma than Whites. These disparate health outcomes culminate in a 10% decrease in life expectancy for African-Americans compared to their White counterparts (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). This study sought to explore the effects of stress on the well-established relationship between air pollution and health by analyzing self-reported health and stress data. Overall, health outcomes were best predicted by “classic” biologic indicators, such as age and BMI, and were somewhat well predicted by socioeconomic determinants of health such as income and education. Self-rated general health was well accounted for, with almost 30% of the variation in general health explained by our independent variables. We also found that respondents reporting higher stress levels were strongly more likely to report worse overall health and respondents living nearer to facilities were moderately more likely to report worse general health.School of Environment and Natural ResourcesCoca-Cola Critical Difference for WomenNo embargoAcademic Major: Environmental Scienc

The Risks of Taking Facebook at Face Value: Why the Psychology of Social Networking Should Influence the Evidentiary Relevance of Facebook Photographs

Social networking sites in general, and Facebook in particular, have changed the way individuals communicate and express themselves. Facebook users share a multitude of personal information through the website, especially photographs. Additionally, Facebook enables individuals to tailor their online profiles to project a desired persona. However, as social scientists have demonstrated, the image users portray can mislead outside observers. Given the wealth of information available on Facebook, it is no surprise that attorneys often peruse the website for evidence to dispute opponents\u27 claims. This Note examines the admission and relevance of Facebook photographs offered to prove a litigant\u27s state of mind. Part I explores social science and evolving case law in the social networking arena, discussing courts\u27 tendencies to find Facebook photographs discoverable and admissible in civil and criminal litigation. Part II analyzes courts\u27 assessments of the relevance of Facebook photographs as proof of litigants\u27 remorse or happiness. Part III proposes mechanisms to aid fact-finders in evaluating Facebook photographs to better ensure a fair trial. In order to screen out irrelevant photographs before presentation to a jury, courts ought to be receptive to parties\u27 requests for in camera review of Facebook photographs. As to photographs admitted into evidence, courts should be open to litigants\u27 requests for expert and lay testimony on Facebook\u27s social norms. Finally, this Note stresses the need for litigants to educate themselves on Facebook, and advocates further study on the website for purposes of discerning the precise risks of taking Facebook photographs at face value

Intimacy and exclusion: Degas's illustrations for Ludovic Halevy's La Famille Cardinal

Intimacy and exclusion: Degas's illustrations for Ludovic Halevy's La Famille Cardina

Photography, building and dwelling: Fiona Tan’s empty house

Home/Land: Women, Citizenship, Photographies is an extensive compendium of texts and images, combining scholarly, creative and critical writing on photography with new work in photography. The contributions to the compendium range from academic essays on fine art and documentary photographies to photo-essays, community-based and pedagogical photographic projects, personal testimonies, creative writing, activist interventions and accounts of participatory action research using photography. Home/Land is global in its reach, exploring women’s lives in Britain and other European nations, the United States, Canada, the Middle East, South Africa, Asia and Australia. Bringing together texts and images produced by an international group of feminist scholars, activists, artists and educators, the book demonstrates how women have used photographic practices to find places for themselves as citizens, denizens, exiles or guests, within or beyond the nation as currently conceived, and, in so doing, how they actively produce new and different forms of identity, community and belonging

Kinetic studies on the reaction of formaldehyde with amines in the presence of sulfite

The reaction of formaldehyde with amines with and without sulfite has been studied using anilines (RC(_6)H(_4)NH(_2)) and benzylamines (RC(_6)H(_4)CH(_2)NH(_2)). Reaction with anilines is known to produce aminomethanesulfonates, RC(_6)H(_4)NHCH(_2)SO(_3)(^-), which are industrially important in the azo dye industry. The kinetics and mechanism of formation of RC(_6)H(_4)NHCH(_2)SO(_3)" and RC(_6)H(_4)CH(_2)NHCH(_2)SO(_3) have been studied: rate constants are quoted for the individual reaction steps in addition to the overall reaction. The reaction of formaldehyde, HCHO, with the amine, RNH(_2), gives an N-(hydroxymethyl)amine, RNHCH(_2)OH, via a zwitterionic intermediate. Rate constants of 8.0 x 10(_3) to 4.3 x 10(^6) dm(^3) mol(^-1) have been obtained. RNHCH(_2)OH then dehydrates in acidic conditions or loses hydroxyl ion to form an iminium ion, [RNH=CH(_2)](^+). This then reacts rapidly with sulfite ions to yield the product. The rate determining step was found to depend on the pH of the reaction. At low and neutral pH the reaction of HCHO with RNH(_2) is the rate determining step. At high pH the rate determining step becomes dehydration of RNHCH(_2)OH to give [RNH=CH(_2)](^+). Hydroxymethanesulfonate, CH(_2)(OH)(S0(_3)Na), was used to introduce HCHO and sulfite, SO(_3)(^2-) , into the system. This must undergo decomposition initially to yield reactive free HCHO. Above pH 3 decomposition occurs mainly through the dianion, CH(_2)(0')(S0(_3)'(^-)) Below pH 3, decomposition through the monoanion, CH(_2)(OH)(S0(_3)') forms the major pathway: this may become the rate determining step in the overall reaction at low pH. Rate constants for decomposition equal to 24 ± 5 s(^-1) and 2.3 x 10(^-8) s(^-1) have been obtained for the dianion and monoanion respectively. pK(_a) values in the range 4.9 to 5.6 have been measured for protonated adducts, RN(^1)H(_2)S0(_3)(^-), formed from benzylamines. With benzylamines, reaction with another molecule of CH(_2)(OH)(S0(_3)Na) can occur to produce RN(CH(_2)S0(_3)(^-))(_2) in addition to RNHCH(_2)SO(_3)(^-). Polymerisation of imines has also been studied: cyclic trimers and 1 : 2 HCHO : RNH(_2) adducts have been synthesised

Ink Remix: Contemporary Art from Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, curated by Sophie McIntyre [Exhibition Review]

Ink Remix: Contemporary Art from Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, curated by Sophie McIntyre [Exhibition Review