The Snacking Chameleon: Psychological Proximity Increases Imitation of Food Intake Independently of Brand Choice

Observing other people snacking can affect one’s own consumption behavior. The present experiment tested whether temporal distance moderates imitation of brand choice and the number of snacks consumed. Based on previous research demonstrating that psychological distance (e.g., temporal or spatial distance) reduces imitation of movements, we hypothesized that participants would imitate the amount of food intake to a lesser degree when they temporally distance themselves from a model person. To test this idea, participants (n = 113) were asked to imagine their life either the next day (proximal condition) or in one year (distant condition). Next, participants watched a video clip depicting a model person who chose one of two brands of pretzels and ate either plenty or just a few of the pretzels. Then, participants chose one of the two brands of pretzels, served themselves as many of the pretzels as they liked, and ate them while filling in a tasting questionnaire. As expected, participants primed with proximity imitated snack intake more than participants primed with distance. The brand choice was not affected by self-distancing. Implications for snacking behavior are discussed

Cotas de gênero: eleições de 2014 e 2018 para deputados no sul do Brasil

The Brazilian electoral system has been undergoing many changes to effectively provide a situation more accessible to women. This way, the most relevant change in recent years has been the implementation of gender quotas in politics. With the incoming of Law No. 12.034 of 2009, it became mandatory to respect the electoral quotas, however, at first, it did not have the expected effect and emerged as so-called "ghost candidacies". In an attempt to implement a real change in the political landscape, the judiciary reinterprets the legal standards applicable to the Party Fund, the Special Party Fund and the electoral propaganda time on female radio and television. From the new pattern of effecting electoral quotas, verified through statistical data from two general elections, an evolution in the fight against the gender disparity in the political environment and, for this, presents a comparative analysis of data from the General Elections of 2014 and 2018, for the federal and state deputy charges in the south of the country. Using the deductive method, the discussion was based on prepared tables from the information provided by the Superior Electoral Court on its website. The expected result was positive as the changes caused a significant increase in elected women in 2018 compared to the previous one. However, in addition to improving electoral rules and interpreting the quota deploy in the political scenario, the real issue must be disrupted, namely, the cultural basis of Brazilian society.O sistema eleitoral brasileiro vem sofrendo inúmeras reformas para proporcionar um cenário efetivamente acessível às mulheres. Nesse sentido, a alteração mais relevante nos últimos anos foi a implementação das cotas de gênero na política.  Com o advento da Lei nº 12.034 de 2009, tornou-se obrigatório o respeito às cotas eleitorais, porém, inicialmente, não teve o efeito esperado e surgiram as chamadas “candidaturas fantasmas”. Na tentativa de implementar uma real mudança no cenário político, o Poder Judiciário reinterpretou as normas jurídicas referentes ao Fundo Partidário, ao Fundo Partidário Especial e ao tempo de propaganda eleitoral no rádio e na televisão para o sexo feminino. A partir do novo paradigma de efetivação das cotas eleitorais, verificou-se, através de dados estatísticos de duas eleições gerais, a evolução na luta contra a disparidade existente entre os sexos no ambiente político e, para isso, apresenta-se a análise comparativa de dados das Eleições Gerais de 2014 e de 2018, para os cargos de deputado federal e estadual no sul do país. Utilizando do método dedutivo, a discussão pautou-se em tabelas elaboradas a partir das informações disponibilizadas pelo Tribunal Superior Eleitoral em seu sítio eletrônico. O resultado verificado foi positivo, uma vez que as mudanças trouxeram um aumento considerável de mulheres eleitas nas eleições de 2018 em comparação com a eleição anterior. No entanto, além do aperfeiçoamento das regras eleitorais e a interpretação sobre a aplicação de cotas no cenário político, deve-se buscar atacar o real problema da questão, qual seja, a base cultural da sociedade brasileira

Cognitive, physical and emotional determinants of activities of daily living in nursing home residents—a cross-sectional study within the PROCARE-project

Background Interdependencies of health, fitness, cognition, and emotion can promote or inhibit mobility. This study aimed to analyse pathways and interactions between individual subjective and objective physical performance, cognition, and emotions with activities of daily living (ADLs) as mobility indicators in multimorbid nursing home residents. Methods The study included $n$ = 448 (77.1% females, age = 84.1 ± 7.8 years) nursing home residents. To describe the participant\u27s demographics, frailty, number of falls, and participating institutions\u27 socioeconomic status (SES) were assessed. ADLs were measured with the Barthel Index (BI; dependent variable). Independent variables included objective physical performance, subjective physical performance, cognition, and emotions. A structural equation model (SEM) with maximum likelihood estimation was conducted with AMOS. Direct and indirect effects were estimated using standardized coefficients (significance level of 0.05). Results Indices showed (Chi$^2$(148) = 217, PCMIN/DF = 1.47; p < .001; Comparative Fit Index = .940; Tucker Lewes Index = .902, RMSEA = .033) that the model fitted the data adequately. While there was no direct association between emotions, subjective physical performance, and ADLs, objective physical performance and cognition predicted higher ADLs (p < .01). Emotions had a strong relationship with subjective physical performance, and cognition had a moderate relationship with objective physical performance. Discussion and conclusion Objective performance and cognition predicted higher functional status, as expressed by higher BI scores. ADLs, such as mobility, dressing, or handling tasks, require motor and cognitive performance. Subjective performance is an important predictor of ADLs and is only partly explained by objective performance, but to a large extent also by emotions. Therefore, future interventions for nursing home residents should take a holistic approach that focuses not only on promoting objective physical and cognitive performance but also on emotions and perceived physical performance

COMPORTAMENTO DE GENÓTIPOS DE MILHO EM DOIS AMBIENTES DO ESTADO DO PARANÁ

Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o comportamento de 10 gen&oacute;tipos de milho, em dois diferentes ambientes do Estado do Paran&aacute;. Os experimentos foram conduzidos no ano agr&iacute;cola de 2007/2008, nos munic&iacute;pios de Cascavel e Quedas do Igua&ccedil;u. O ensaio foi conduzido por 7 h&iacute;bridos duplos experimentais da Empresa Melhoramento Agropastoril e 3 h&iacute;bridos comerciais, usados como par&acirc;metros a adaptabilidade e estabilidade. O delineamento experimental adotado foi o de blocos ao acaso com quatro repeti&ccedil;&otilde;es em dois locais. Em Cascavel a semeadura foi realizada mecanicamente e em Quedas do Igua&ccedil;u a semeadura foi manual. Foram coletados os dados de stand final, altura de planta, inser&ccedil;&atilde;o da espiga, e rendimento de gr&atilde;os (kg/ha). As vari&aacute;veis foram submetidas &agrave;s analises de vari&acirc;ncia por local e conjunta, e teste de signific&acirc;ncia (Tukey a 5% de signific&acirc;ncia). Para as condu&ccedil;&otilde;es das an&aacute;lises estat&iacute;sticas usou-se o programa ASSISTAT vers&atilde;o 7.5 beta (Silva, 2008). UFCG. Os altos rendimentos de gr&atilde;os expressam o potencial produtivo dos gen&oacute;tipos e da regi&atilde;o

A multicomponent exercise intervention to improve physical functioning, cognition and psychosocial well-being in elderly nursing home residents: a study protocol of a randomized controlled trial in the PROCARE (prevention and occupational health in long-term care) project

Background Older adults, who are living in nursing homes that provide a high level of long-term nursing care, are characterized by multimorbidity and a high prevalence of dependency in activities of daily living. Results of recent studies indicate positive effects of structured exercise programs during long-term care for physical functioning, cognition, and psychosocial well-being. However, for frail elderly the evidence remains inconsistent. There are no evidence-based guidelines for exercises for nursing home residents that consider their individual deficits and capacities. Therefore, high-quality studies are required to examine the efficacy of exercise interventions for this multimorbid target group. The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility and efficacy of a multicomponent exercise intervention for nursing home residents that aims to improve physical and cognitive functioning as well as quality of life. Methods A two-arm single-blinded multicenter randomized controlled trial will be conducted, including 48 nursing homes in eight regions of Germany with an estimated sample size of 1120 individuals. Participants will be randomly assigned to either a training or a waiting time control group. For a period of 16 weeks the training group will meet twice a week for group-based sessions (45–60 min each), which will contain exercises to improve physical functioning (strength, endurance, balance, flexibility) and cognitive-motor skills (dual-task). The intervention is organized as a progressive challenge which is successively adapted to the residents’ capacities. Physical functioning, cognitive performance, and quality of life will be assessed in both study groups at baseline (pre-test), after 16-weeks (post-treatment), and after 32-weeks (retention test, intervention group only). Discussion This study will provide information about the efficacy of a multicomponent exercise program in nursing homes (performance, recruitment). Results from this trial will contribute to the evidence of multicomponent exercises, which specifically focus on cognitive-motor approaches in the maintenance of mental and physical functioning. In addition, it will help to encourage older adults to actively engage in social life. Furthermore, the findings will lead to recommendations for health promotion interventions for frail nursing home residents. Trial registration The trial was prospectively registered at DRKS.de with the registration number DRKS00014957 on October 9, 2018

Phasic left atrial strain to predict worsening of diastolic function: Results from the prospective Berlin Female Risk Evaluation follow-up trial

Purpose: The predictive value of maximum left atrial volume index (LAVI), phasic left atrial strain (LAS) and other standard echocardiographic parameters assessing left ventricular (LV) diastolic function to discriminate a future worsening of diastolic function (DD) in patients at risk is unclear. We aimed to prospectively assess and compare the clinical impact of these parameters in a randomly selected study sample of the general urban female population. Methods and results: A comprehensive clinical and echocardiographic evaluation was performed in 256 participants of the Berlin Female Risk Evaluation (BEFRI) trial after a mean follow up time of 6.8 years. After an assessment of participants' current DD status, the predictive impact of an impaired LAS on the course of DD was assessed and compared with LAVI and other DD parameters using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Subjects with no DD (DD0) who showed a decline of diastolic function by the time of follow-up showed a reduced LA reservoir (LASr) and conduit strain (LAScd) compared to subjects who remained in the healthy range (LASr 28.0% +/- 7.0 vs. 41.9% +/- 8.5; LAScd -13.2% +/- 5.1 vs. -25.4% +/- 9.1; p < 0.001). With an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.88 (95%CI 0.82-0.94) and 0.84 (95%CI 0.79-0.89), LASr and LAScd exhibited the highest discriminative value in predicting worsening of diastolic function, whereas LAVI was only of limited prognostic value [AUC 0.63 (95%CI 0.54-0.73)]. In logistic regression analyses, LAS remained a significant predictor for a decline of diastolic function after controlling for clinical and standard echocardiographic DD parameters, indicating its incremental predictive value. Conclusion: The analysis of phasic LAS may be useful to predict worsening of LV diastolic function in DD0 patients at risk for a future DD development.GRAPHICAL ABSTRAC

Phasic left atrial strain to predict worsening of diastolic function: Results from the prospective Berlin Female Risk Evaluation follow-up trial

Purpose: The predictive value of maximum left atrial volume index (LAVI), phasic left atrial strain (LAS) and other standard echocardiographic parameters assessing left ventricular (LV) diastolic function to discriminate a future worsening of diastolic function (DD) in patients at risk is unclear. We aimed to prospectively assess and compare the clinical impact of these parameters in a randomly selected study sample of the general urban female population. Methods and results: A comprehensive clinical and echocardiographic evaluation was performed in 256 participants of the Berlin Female Risk Evaluation (BEFRI) trial after a mean follow up time of 6.8 years. After an assessment of participants’ current DD status, the predictive impact of an impaired LAS on the course of DD was assessed and compared with LAVI and other DD parameters using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Subjects with no DD (DD0) who showed a decline of diastolic function by the time of follow-up showed a reduced LA reservoir (LASr) and conduit strain (LAScd) compared to subjects who remained in the healthy range (LASr 28.0% ± 7.0 vs. 41.9% ± 8.5; LAScd −13.2% ± 5.1 vs. −25.4% ± 9.1; p < 0.001). With an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.88 (95%CI 0.82–0.94) and 0.84 (95%CI 0.79–0.89), LASr and LAScd exhibited the highest discriminative value in predicting worsening of diastolic function, whereas LAVI was only of limited prognostic value [AUC 0.63 (95%CI 0.54–0.73)]. In logistic regression analyses, LAS remained a significant predictor for a decline of diastolic function after controlling for clinical and standard echocardiographic DD parameters, indicating its incremental predictive value. Conclusion: The analysis of phasic LAS may be useful to predict worsening of LV diastolic function in DD0 patients at risk for a future DD development. GRAPHICAL ABSTRAC