139 research outputs found
MOVING BEYOND FEAR: EXPLORING PERCEPTIONS OF THEORY-BASED GRAPHIC WARNING LABELS AMONG LOW-INCOME, URBAN SMOKERS
Background: Research supports the greater impact of graphic warning labels than text-only labels on cessation behaviors; however, few studies have looked at the effectiveness of specific content. Evidence-based communication and behavioral theories and constructsâparticularly efficacy beliefs, risk perceptions, and perceived similarity to charactersâin label design might enhance their persuasiveness. Moreover, few studies have explored graphic warning labels among low socioeconomic status (SES) populations in the U.S. The aim of this dissertation was to develop and explore perceptions of theory-driven graphic warning labels among low-income smokers in Baltimore, Maryland.
Methods: From January-February 2014, qualitative interviews were completed with 25 low-income smokers, who were purposively sampled from a community-based population by age group (<40 versus â„40 years) and gender. Participants were asked about their perceptions of the labels, perceived influence on efficacy beliefs, risk perceptions, and motivation to quit, and perceived similarity to the characters. Interview transcripts were coded using a deductive and inductive approach in Atlas.ti v.7, and data were analyzed using the framework method, a thematic analysis using a matrix structure for data reduction.
Findings: Efficacy messages in which participants vicariously experienced the charactersâ quit successes were reported as most influential to self-efficacy beliefs, and viewing characters as role models for quitting was also reported as motivational for quitting. High threat labels were reported as increasing perceived risk from smoking and causing fear and worry about the risks, and these high risk perceptions and negative emotional reactions to the labels were reported as being very motivational. Findings also highlighted ways in which the characters and perceived similarity to characters might enhance or diminish the influence of labels on efficacy beliefs, risk perceptions, and motivation. Labels depicting negative effects from smoking were most often reported as motivational, compared to labels depicting the benefits of quitting, with some differences in reporting by participantsâ quit attempt status.
Conclusions: This research contributed to the growing literature exploring graphic warning labels in the U.S. and suggested new approaches for the design of theory-based labels to promote cessation. It also contributed valuable information on perceptions of graphic warning labels among low SES populations
Distance models as a tool for modelling detection probability and density of native bumblebees
Effective monitoring of native bee populations requires accurate estimates of population size and relative abundance among habitats. Current bee survey methods, such as netting or pan trapping, may be adequate for a variety of study objectives but are limited by a failure to account for imperfect detection. Biases due to imperfect detection could result in inaccurate abundance estimates or erroneous insights about the response of bees to different environments. To gauge the potential biases of currently employed survey methods, we compared abundance estimates of bumblebees (Bombus spp.) derived from hierarchical distance sampling models (HDS) to bumblebee counts collected from fixedâarea net surveys (ânet countsâ) and fixedâwidth transect counts (âtransect countsâ) at 47 earlyâsuccessional forest patches in Pennsylvania. Our HDS models indicated that detection probabilities of Bombus spp. were imperfect and varied with surveyâ and siteâcovariates. Despite being conspicuous, Bombus spp. were not reliably detected beyond 5 m. Habitat associations of Bombus spp. density were similar across methods, but the strength of association with shrub cover differed between HDS and net counts. Additionally, net counts suggested sites with more grass hosted higher Bombus spp. densities whereas HDS suggested that grass cover was associated with higher detection probability but not Bombus spp. density. Density estimates generated from net counts and transect counts were 80%â89% lower than estimates generated from distance sampling. Our findings suggest that distance modelling provides a reliable method to assess Bombus spp. density and habitat associations, while accounting for imperfect detection caused by distance from observer, vegetation structure, and survey covariates. However, detection/ nonâdetection data collected via pointâcounts, lineâtransects and distance sampling for Bombus spp. are unlikely to yield speciesâspecific density estimates unless individuals can be identified by sight, without capture. Our results will be useful for informing the design of monitoring programs for Bombus spp. and other pollinators
The role of theory-driven graphic warning labels in motivation to quit: a qualitative study on perceptions from low-income, urban smokers
Background: Use of communication theories in the development of pictorial health warning labels (graphic
warning labels) for cigarette packaging might enhance labelsâ impact on motivation to quit, but research has been
limited, particularly among low socioeconomic status (SES) populations in the U.S. This qualitative study explored
perceptions of theory-based graphic warning labels and their role in motivation to quit among low-income
smokers.
Methods: A cross-sectional qualitative study was conducted with 25 low-income adult smokers in Baltimore,
Maryland, who were purposively sampled from a community-based source population. Semi-structured, in-depth
interviews were conducted from January to February 2014. Participants were asked about the motivational impact
of 12 labels falling into four content categories: negative depictions of the health effects of smoking to smokers
and others, and positive depictions of the benefits of quitting to smokers and others. Data were coded using a
combined inductive/deductive approach and analyzed thematically through framework analysis.
Results: Labels depicting negative health effects to smokers were identified as most motivational, followed by
labels depicting negative health effects to others. Reasons included perceived severity of and susceptibility to the
effects, negative emotional reactions (such as fear), and concern for children. Labels about the benefits of quitting
were described as motivational because of their hopefulness, characters as role models, and desire to improve
family health. Reasons why labels were described as not motivational included lack of impact on perceived
severity/susceptibility, low credibility, and fatalistic attitudes regarding the inevitability of disease.
Conclusions: Labels designed to increase risk perceptions from smoking might be significant sources of motivation
for low SES smokers. Findings suggest innovative theory-driven approaches for the design of labels, such as using
former smokers as role models, contrasting healthy and unhealthy characters, and socially-oriented labels, might
motivate low SES smokers to quit.The data collection was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse at
the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration Center
for Tobacco Products (grant numbers R01DA032217-04 and R01DA032217-04S);
and by the National Institute of Allergy And Infectious Diseases at the National
Institutes of Health, The Johns Hopkins Center for AIDS Research (grant number
1P30 AI094189). The agencies were not involved in any technical aspect of the
study. Funding for Open Access provided by the UMD Libraries Open Access
Publishing Fund.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-1438-
Nesting biology of the bee Caupolicana yarrowi.
20 pages : illustrations (some color), color maps ; 26 cm.
Appendix: Use of nectar by the desert bee Caupolicana yarrowi (Colletidae) in cell construction / James H. Cane and Jerome G. Rozen, Jr.The first part of this publication, written by a group of participants in Bee Course 2018, results from the discovery of three nests of Caupolicana yarrowi (Cresson, 1875) at the base of the Chiricahua Mountains in southeastern Arizona. The nests are deep with branching laterals that usually connect to large vertical brood cells by an upward turn before curving downward and attaching to the top of the chambers. This loop of the lateral thus seems to serve as a "sink trap," excluding rainwater from reaching open cells during provisioning. Although mature larvae had not yet developed, an egg of C. yarrowi was discovered floating on the provisions allowing an SEM examination of its chorion, the first such study for any egg of the Diphaglossinae. Larval food for this species at this site came from Solanum elaeagnifolium Cav. (Solanaceae). Nests were parasitized by Triepeolus grandis (Friese, 1917) (Epeolini), which previously was known to attack only Ptiloglossa (Diphaglossinae: Caupolicanini). The subterranean nest cells of the desert bee Caupolicana yarrowi (Colletidae), which are enveloped by a casing of hardened soil that easily separates from the surrounding matrix, are discussed in a separate appendix. Chemical analysis revealed the casing to be rich in reducing sugars, indicating that the mother bee had regurgitated floral nectar onto the rough interior walls of the cell cavity before smoothing and waterproofing them. This novel use of nectar in nest construction is compared with that of other bee species that bring water to a nest site to soften soil for excavation
Rare coding variants in PLCG2, ABI3, and TREM2 implicate microglial-mediated innate immunity in Alzheimer's disease
We identified rare coding variants associated with Alzheimerâs disease (AD) in a 3-stage case-control study of 85,133 subjects. In stage 1, 34,174 samples were genotyped using a whole-exome microarray. In stage 2, we tested associated variants (P<1Ă10-4) in 35,962 independent samples using de novo genotyping and imputed genotypes. In stage 3, an additional 14,997 samples were used to test the most significant stage 2 associations (P<5Ă10-8) using imputed genotypes. We observed 3 novel genome-wide significant (GWS) AD associated non-synonymous variants; a protective variant in PLCG2 (rs72824905/p.P522R, P=5.38Ă10-10, OR=0.68, MAFcases=0.0059, MAFcontrols=0.0093), a risk variant in ABI3 (rs616338/p.S209F, P=4.56Ă10-10, OR=1.43, MAFcases=0.011, MAFcontrols=0.008), and a novel GWS variant in TREM2 (rs143332484/p.R62H, P=1.55Ă10-14, OR=1.67, MAFcases=0.0143, MAFcontrols=0.0089), a known AD susceptibility gene. These protein-coding changes are in genes highly expressed in microglia and highlight an immune-related protein-protein interaction network enriched for previously identified AD risk genes. These genetic findings provide additional evidence that the microglia-mediated innate immune response contributes directly to AD development
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