Taking A Stand: The Effects Of Standing Desks On Task Performance And Engagement

Time spent sitting is associated with negative health outcomes, motivating some individuals to adopt standing desk workstations. This study represents the first investigation of the effects of standing desk use on reading comprehension and creativity. In a counterbalanced, within-subjects design, 96 participants completed reading comprehension and creativity tasks while both sitting and standing. Participants self-reported their mood during the tasks and also responded to measures of expended effort and task difficulty. In addition, participants indicated whether they expected that they would perform better on work-relevant tasks while sitting or standing. Despite participants’ beliefs that they would perform worse on most tasks while standing, body position did not affect reading comprehension or creativity performance, nor did it affect perceptions of effort or difficulty. Mood was also unaffected by position, with a few exceptions: Participants exhibited greater task engagement (i.e., interest, enthusiasm, and alertness) and less comfort while standing rather than sitting. In sum, performance and psychological experience as related to task completion were nearly entirely uninfluenced by acute (~30-min) standing desk use. View Full-Tex

Military Law and the Miranda Requirements

The purpose of this article is to examine the Code and its effectiveness in dealing with the military accused in the area of criminal procedure. Emphasis will be placed on the serviceman\u27s right to counsel, the serviceman\u27s Fifth Amendment privilege against self incrimination and the scope of the Bill of Rights when applied to the serviceman. The discussion will be limited to the relationship of the military to its own personnel

A series solution and a fast algorithm for the inversion of the spherical mean Radon transform

An explicit series solution is proposed for the inversion of the spherical mean Radon transform. Such an inversion is required in problems of thermo- and photo- acoustic tomography. Closed-form inversion formulae are currently known only for the case when the centers of the integration spheres lie on a sphere surrounding the support of the unknown function, or on certain unbounded surfaces. Our approach results in an explicit series solution for any closed measuring surface surrounding a region for which the eigenfunctions of the Dirichlet Laplacian are explicitly known - such as, for example, cube, finite cylinder, half-sphere etc. In addition, we present a fast reconstruction algorithm applicable in the case when the detectors (the centers of the integration spheres) lie on a surface of a cube. This algorithm reconsrtucts 3-D images thousands times faster than backprojection-type methods

Emotional intelligence and empathy of nursing students in an immersive capstone clinical course

Background. Today’s baccalaureate nursing students need to be prepared to care for patients in an ever-changing, high acuity environment. Many programs offer a capstone immersive clinical experience. However, the benefits of this experience have not been fully explored, and the effect on patient care is unknown. Purpose. The purpose of the study was to determine if there was a change in levels of Emotional Intelligence (EI) and empathy in senior students who completed a capstone immersive clinical experience in the final semester of a baccalaureate nursing program. Theoretical Framework. The theoretical framework for this study was the Mayer and Salovey’s (1997) four-branch model of EI which evaluated EI and empathy of the senior nursing student. Methods. This quasi-experimental study was conducted at a baccalaureate degree program in the Mid-South. A convenience sample was utilized to examine the means of EI and empathy before and after a capstone immersive clinical experience. Results. Significance was found in students’ EI levels after the immersive experience. No significance was found in students’ empathy levels. Significance was not found in students’ EI or empathy with regards to gender and prior health care experience. In students with prior health care experience, empathy declined with increased exposure to clinical experience. Conclusions. EI and empathy along with caring and compassion need to be recognized as important concepts in nursing education. Implementation of EI and empathy in educational activities and evaluation of their effectiveness in nursing curricula will improve students’ preparedness as they complete their education and enter practice

THE ASSOCIATION OF VITAMIN D STATUS WITH DISEASE ACTIVITY IN CANADIAN CHILDREN NEWLY DIAGNOSED WITH JUVENILE IDIOPATHIC ARTHRITIS

Introduction: Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) is among the most common chronic diseases of childhood. The cause of JIA is unknown but is suspected to occur in genetically susceptible children with some unidentified environmental exposure. Vitamin D, through its genetic or environmental influences, may regulate inflammation and immune responses in JIA. To date, no 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations specific to children with JIA have been suggested. Objective. The overarching goal of this research was to understand how vitamin D affects disease activity in children who are suffering from JIA. The specific objectives were to: (1) Compare vitamin D status between healthy children and patients with JIA. (2) Determine vitamin D status and its association with disease activity and outcomes in children with JIA. (3) Identify potential associations of vitamin D pathway gene polymorphisms and JIA. Methods. Data from the Biologically-Based Outcome Predictors (BBOP) Study, a prospective multi-center study of newly diagnosed Canadian children with JIA (n=186, 2007-2012) was analyzed. Blood samples were obtained at baseline and 6 months later to measure 25(OH)D)and plasma inflammatory cytokine concentrations. Saliva was collected for genetic analysis. Vitamin D-related factors (milk intake, season of measurement, supplementation and steroid use) and clinical data to define remission were recorded every 6 months for 2 years. First, BBOP children were compared to healthy children from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS). 25(OH)D concentrations, vitamin D related factors, measures of inflammation, and anthropometric measurements were evaluated. Longitudinal analysis then explored whether 25(OH)D and related factors could predict disease activity in BBOP children. Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) techniques were then applied to identify frequent gene polymorphisms of potential relevance to the vitamin D pathway in JIA. Significant variables from linear regressions, genes identified through GWAS, vitamin D pathway genes and interactions were selected for further analysis. Results. Mean 25(OH)D concentration was significantly higher in JIA patients (79 ± 3.1 nmol/L vs. 68 ± 1.8 nmol/L p <0.05) and JIA patients used vitamin D supplements more often (50% vs. 7% p <0.05). Children with JIA were more likely to be born in the fall and winter compared to healthy children. C-reactive protein concentration (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) decreased significantly over the 2 years (p<0.05). Increased 25(OH)D or its associated factors predicted lower ESR, CRP and pro-inflammatory cytokine concentrations. Overall, 36% of children achieved remission on continuing medications; 25% had sustained remission after discontinuing medication. GWAS identified the following genetic components: NOTCH4, C6orf10, HLA-DQA1, LEP, IGFBP4, and GPS1. Interactions between frequent gene polymorphisms and those in the vitamin D pathway (VDR, GC, CYP24A1, and CYP1R1) significantly predicted disease activity-related outcomes. Genes, when included, modified the association between 25(OH)D and indicators of disease activity. With and without genes in the model, drinking milk every day predicted a reduction in indicators of disease activity as measured by CRP, ESR, and interleukin-6. Conclusion. Using 25(OH)D recommendations suggested for healthy children, 25(OH)D was adequate in the JIA population. A preponderance of JIA patients born in seasons associated with reduced endogenous vitamin D could implicate low vitamin D during gestation and early life as a factor influencing JIA pathogenesis. Milk intake, as a source of dietary vitamin D, is associated with suppression of inflammation in children with JIA. This is the first time gene and environment influences in relation to vitamin D were analyzed together in association with JIA disease activity. Environmental, biochemical, and genetic factors, including their interactions, predict disease activity in children with JIA