A Qualitative Exploration of Sport and Social Pressures on Elite Athletes in Relation to Disordered Eating

Introduction: Athletes are at increased risk of disordered eating compared to non-athletes. Inspired by previous investigation into quantitative work on an etiological model of disordered eating in athletes, the current study aimed to explore a problematic aspect of the model: athletes' lived experiences of social and sport pressures in relation to the onset of disordered eating and differing eating behaviors. / Methods: Nine (N = 9) male and female athletes representing a range of endurance sports took part in semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was utilized. / Analysis: Analysis revealed two main themes each with two corresponding subthemes (1) Conflating physical appearance and sporting ability with the subthemes of (1a) social comparison in a sporting world and (1b) societal notions of “the athlete body” and (2) Living as an athlete with the corresponding subthemes of (2a) discipline and sacrifice and (2b) the balancing act. / Discussion: It is the complex interaction between societal expectations as lived out in social messages and comparisons, and sport pressures that contributes to the development of disordered eating behaviors. These findings suggest that prevention and treatment of disordered eating in athletes can be applied from those already established in non-sporting realm

Host plant defense produces species-specific alterations to flight muscle protein structure and flight-related fitness traits of two armyworms

Insects manifest phenotypic plasticity in their development and behavior in response to plant defenses, via molecular mechanisms that produce tissue-specific changes. Phenotypic changes might vary between species that differ in their preferred hosts and these effects could extend beyond larval stages. To test this,we manipulated the diet of southern armyworm(SAW; Spodoptera eridania) and fall armyworm (FAW; Spodoptera frugiperda) using a tomato mutant for jasmonic acid plant defense pathway (def1), and wild-type plants, and then quantified gene expression of Troponin t (Tnt) and flightmusclemetabolismof the adult insects. Differences in Tnt spliceform ratios in insect flight muscles correlate with changes to flight muscle metabolism and flight muscle output. We found that SAW adults reared on induced def1 plants had a higher relative abundance (RA) of the A isoform of Troponin t (Tnt A) in their flight muscles; in contrast, FAWadults reared on induced def1 plants had a lower RA of Tnt A in their flight muscles compared with adults reared on def1 and controls. Although massadjusted flightmetabolic rate showed no independent host plant effects in either species, higher flight metabolic rates in SAW correlated with increased RA of Tnt A. Flight muscle metabolism also showed an interaction of host plants with Tnt A in both species, suggesting that host plants might be influencing flight muscle metabolic output by altering Tnt. This study illustrates how insects respond to variation in host plant chemical defense by phenotypic modifications to their flight muscle proteins, with possible implications for dispersal

Adjustment to colostomy: stoma acceptance, stoma care self-efficacy and interpersonal relationships

‘The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com.’ Copyright Blackwell Publishing. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04446.xThis paper is a report of a study to examine adjustment and its relationship with stoma acceptance and social interaction, and the link between stoma care self-efficacy and adjustment in the presence of acceptance and social interactions.Peer reviewe

Salivary Glucose Oxidase from Caterpillars Mediates the Induction of Rapid and Delayed-Induced Defenses in the Tomato Plant

Caterpillars produce oral secretions that may serve as cues to elicit plant defenses, but in other cases these secretions have been shown to suppress plant defenses. Ongoing work in our laboratory has focused on the salivary secretions of the tomato fruitworm, Helicoverpa zea. In previous studies we have shown that saliva and its principal component glucose oxidase acts as an effector by suppressing defenses in tobacco. In this current study, we report that saliva elicits a burst of jasmonic acid (JA) and the induction of late responding defense genes such as proteinase inhibitor 2 (Pin2). Transcripts encoding early response genes associated with the JA pathway were not affected by saliva. We also observed a delayed response to saliva with increased densities of Type VI glandular trichomes in newly emerged leaves. Proteomic analysis of saliva revealed glucose oxidase (GOX) was the most abundant protein identified and we confirmed that it plays a primary role in the induction of defenses in tomato. These results suggest that the recognition of GOX in tomato may represent a case for effector-triggered immunity. Examination of saliva from other caterpillar species indicates that saliva from the noctuids Spodoptera exigua and Heliothis virescens also induced Pin2 transcripts

Nested-grid simulation of mercury over North America

We have developed a new nested-grid mercury (Hg) simulation over North America with a 1/2° latitude by 2/3° longitude horizontal resolution employing the GEOS-Chem global chemical transport model. Emissions, chemistry, deposition, and meteorology are self-consistent between the global and nested domains. Compared to the global model (4° latitude by 5° longitude), the nested model shows improved skill at capturing the high spatial and temporal variability of Hg wet deposition over North America observed by the Mercury Deposition Network (MDN) in 2008–2009. The nested simulation resolves features such as higher deposition due to orographic precipitation, land/ocean contrast and and predicts more efficient convective rain scavenging of Hg over the southeast United States. However, the nested model overestimates Hg wet deposition over the Ohio River Valley region (ORV) by 27%. We modify anthropogenic emission speciation profiles in the US EPA National Emission Inventory (NEI) to account for the rapid in-plume reduction of reactive to elemental Hg (IPR simulation). This leads to a decrease in the model bias to −2.3% over the ORV region. Over the contiguous US, the correlation coefficient (<i>r</i>) between MDN observations and our IPR simulation increases from 0.60 to 0.78. The IPR nested simulation generally reproduces the seasonal cycle in surface concentrations of speciated Hg from the Atmospheric Mercury Network (AMNet) and Canadian Atmospheric Mercury Network (CAMNet). In the IPR simulation, annual mean gaseous and particulate-bound Hg(II) are within 140% and 11% of observations, respectively. In contrast, the simulation with unmodified anthropogenic Hg speciation profiles overestimates these observations by factors of 4 and 2 for gaseous and particulate-bound Hg(II), respectively. The nested model shows improved skill at capturing the horizontal variability of Hg observed over California during the ARCTAS aircraft campaign. The nested model suggests that North American anthropogenic emissions account for 10–22% of Hg wet deposition flux over the US, depending on the anthropogenic emissions speciation profile assumed. The modeled percent contribution can be as high as 60% near large point sources in ORV. Our results indicate that the North American anthropogenic contribution to dry deposition is 13–20%

How do women feel cold water swimming affects their menstrual and perimenopausal symptoms?

Objective. This study aimed to determine how women felt cold water swimming affected their menstrual and perimenopausal symptoms. Study design. An online survey that asked women who regularly swim in cold water about their experiences. The survey was advertised for 2 months on social media. Questions related to cold water swimming habits and menstrual and perimenopausal symptoms were analysed. Main outcome measures Quantitative and qualitative data including; frequency of menstrual and menopause symptoms, the effect of cold water swimming on these symptoms. Results. 1114 women completed the survey. Women reported that cold water swimming reduced their menstrual symptoms, notably psychological symptoms such as anxiety (46.7%), mood swings (37.7%) and irritability (37.6%). Perimenopausal women reported a significant improvement in anxiety (46.9%), mood swings (34.5%), low mood (31.1%) and hot flushes (30.3%). The majority of women with symptoms swam specifically to reduce these symptoms (56.4% for period and 63.3% for perimenopause symptoms). Women said they felt it was the physical and mental effects of the cold water that helped their symptoms. For the free text question, five themes were identified: the calming and mood-boosting effect of the water, companionship and community, period improvements, an improvement in hot flushes and an overall health improvement. Conclusion. Women felt that cold water swimming had a positive overall effect on menstrual and perimenopause symptoms. Studies on other forms of exercise to relieve menstrual and perimenopause symptoms may show similar findings

Evaluation of the Total Design Method in a survey of Japanese dentists

BACKGROUND: This study assessed the application of the Total Design Method (TDM) in a mail survey of Japanese dentists. The TDM was chosen because survey response rates in Japan are unacceptably low and the TDM had previously been used in a general population survey. METHODS: Four hundred and seventy eight dentist members of the Okayama Medical and Dental Practitioner's Association were surveyed. The nine-page, 27-item questionnaire covered dentist job satisfaction, physical practice, and dentist and patient characteristics. Respondents to the first mailing or the one-week follow-up postcard were defined as early responders; others who responded were late responders. Responder bias was assessed by examining age, gender and training. RESULTS: The overall response rate was 46.7% (223/478). The response rates by follow-up mailing were, 18% after the first mailing, 35.4% after the follow-up postcard, 42.3% after the second mailing, and 46.7% after the third mailing. Respondents did not differ from non-respondents in age or gender, nor were there differences between early and late responders. CONCLUSION: The application of TDM in this survey of Japanese dentists produced lower rates of response than expected from previous Japanese and US studies

How do women feel cold water swimming affects their menstrual and perimenopausal symptoms?

Objective This study aimed to determine how women felt cold water swimming affected their menstrual and perimenopausal symptoms. Study design An online survey that asked women who regularly swim in cold water about their experiences. The survey was advertised for 2 months on social media. Questions related to cold water swimming habits and menstrual and perimenopausal symptoms were analysed. Main outcome measures Quantitative and qualitative data including; frequency of menstrual and menopause symptoms, the effect of cold water swimming on these symptoms. Results 1114 women completed the survey. Women reported that cold water swimming reduced their menstrual symptoms, notably psychological symptoms such as anxiety (46.7%), mood swings (37.7%) and irritability (37.6%). Perimenopausal women reported a significant improvement in anxiety (46.9%), mood swings (34.5%), low mood (31.1%) and hot flushes (30.3%). The majority of women with symptoms swam specifically to reduce these symptoms (56.4% for period and 63.3% for perimenopause symptoms). Women said they felt it was the physical and mental effects of the cold water that helped their symptoms. For the free text question, five themes were identified: the calming and mood-boosting effect of the water, companionship and community, period improvements, an improvement in hot flushes and an overall health improvement. Conclusion Women felt that cold water swimming had a positive overall effect on menstrual and perimenopause symptoms. Studies on other forms of exercise to relieve menstrual and perimenopause symptoms may show similar findings