The Differential Effects Of Peer Influence And Advertisement On Healthy Food Choices

The current study examined the differential effects of advertisement and peer pressure on the consumer choices of young adults.. Data were gathered from Fort Hays State University undergraduate participants enrolled in psychology courses. Participants were assigned to one of four experimental groups being comprised of two separate two-level independent variables. One independent variable, advertisement-type, appeared on a computer screen while the participants were completing a simple, yet arbitrary task. The next independent variable, peer choice, was manipulated by having confederates in the same experimental session choose either healthy or unhealthy foods prior to the participants as a reward for completing the arbitrary task. Thus, some deception was involved in this experiment, because the participants were led to believe the arbitrary task they completed on the computer was the focus of the study, rather than their food choice. Participants’ food choices were shown to be heavily influenced by peer pressure (i.e., by the food choices of the confederates in the same experimental session). However, no effect of advertisement type was present. Also, the effect of peer choice on participant food choice was not moderated by advertisements for a particular type of food, suggesting a fairly stable peer influence effect. Limitations and future research are also discussed

Effects of multiple stressors: hydroperiod, introduced bullfrogs, and food limitation on northern red-legged frogs (Rana aurora)

As human activities reach every corner of the globe, climate change, invasive species, habitat destruction, and other stressors causing species’ declines no longer act alone. Climate change has the potential to exacerbate (or mitigate) other stressors (e.g. invasive species or pathogens) affecting amphibian populations. I assessed the combined effects of increased pond drying rates (potential impact of climate change), invasive bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) presence, and food availability on northern red-legged frog (Rana aurora) survival and body size after metamorphosis by rearing tadpoles under incrementally shortened hydroperiods with and without the presence of invasive bullfrog tadpoles in low and high food environments. To explore the underlying mechanisms driving the impact of bullfrogs on R. aurora tadpoles, I had two treatments where bullfrog tadpoles were either separated by a permeable barrier (behavioral cue) or free to move about the tanks (direct competition/predation). To validate the captive experiment, I examined the influence of hydroperiod length on R. aurora survival, development, and growth in a field-based mesocosm experiment. I found hydroperiod to have a threshold effect on survival through metamorphosis in the captive experiment. Once the hydroperiod threshold was met in both the captive and field study, I found no benefit of longer hydroperiods on survival through metamorphosis. Drying rate influenced R. aurora developmental rates, but the effects were dependent on life stage and time of season in the field study. Size at metamorphosis was synergistically affected by bullfrog presence and food availability in the captive experiment. Tadpoles emerged as smaller metamorphs when exposed to bullfrogs in a low food environment. In the field experiment, size at metamorphosis was positively affected by longer hydroperiod and later emergence date. Understanding how multiple stressors impact larval growth and survival is an important component for managing and potentially mitigating the interactive effects of climate change and invasive species for amphibian conservation

Mind-Body Skills Groups for Adolescents with Depression in Primary Care: A Pilot Study

Objective: To determine acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of Mind-Body Skills Groups (MBSGs) as a treatment for depressed adolescents in primary care. Methods: A single arm clinical trial was conducted. A 10-week MBSG program was implemented in primary care. Participants completed self-report measures at baseline, post-intervention, and 3-months following the MBSGs. Measures included the Children’s Depression Inventory-2, Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire, Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, Self-Efficacy for Depressed Adolescents, rumination subscale of the Children’s Response Style Questionnaire, and a short acceptability questionnaire. Results: Participants included 43 adolescents. The total depression scores significantly improved following the MBSG intervention and continued to improve significantly from post-treatment to follow-up. Mindfulness, self-efficacy, rumination, and suicidal ideation all had significant improvement following the intervention. Acceptability of the program was strong, and attendance was excellent. Discussion: Preliminary evidence suggests that MBSGs are an acceptable treatment for primary care settings and lead to improved depression symptoms in adolescents.Sandra Eskenazi Mental Health Center and the Herbert Simon Family Foundation (070241-00002B

Analysis Description Languages for the LHC

An analysis description language is a domain specific language capable of describing the contents of an LHC analysis in a standard and unambiguous way, independent of any computing framework. It is designed for use by anyone with an interest in, and knowledge of, LHC physics, i.e., experimentalists, phenomenologists and other enthusiasts. Adopting analysis description languages would bring numerous benefits for the LHC experimental and phenomenological communities ranging from analysis preservation beyond the lifetimes of experiments or analysis software to facilitating the abstraction, design, visualization, validation, combination, reproduction, interpretation and overall communication of the analysis contents. Here, we introduce the analysis description language concept and summarize the current efforts ongoing to develop such languages and tools to use them in LHC analyses.Comment: Accepted contribution to the proceedings of The 8th Annual Conference on Large Hadron Collider Physics, LHCP2020, 25-30 May, 2020, onlin

Enabling and inhibiting doctors transitions: introducing the social identity resource and belonginess model (SIRB)

The transition into postgraduate medical training is complex, requiring an integration into the workplace, adjustment to new identities, and understanding of the social and organisational structure of healthcare. Studies suggest that social resources, including a sense of belonging, inclusivity from social groups, and having strong social identities can facilitate positive transitions. However, little is known about the role these resources play in junior doctors’ transitions into the healthcare community. This study aimed to explore the implications of having access to social resources for junior doctors. This study undertook secondary analysis from a longitudinal qualitative study which followed 19 junior doctors (residents within two years of qualification) for nine months. Data were thematically analysed using an abductive approach, with the social identity resource and belongingness (SIRB) model as a conceptual lens to explore how social networks of support act as identity resources (IRs) for junior doctors as they experience transitions. The doctors narrated that having accessible IRs in the form of supportive workplace relationships enabled an integration and a sense of belonging into healthcare practice, supported the construction of new professional identities, and strengthened career intentions. Those with inaccessible IRs (i.e. poor workplace relationships) expressed a lack of belonging, and casted doubt on their identity as a doctor and their career intentions. Our study indicates that SIRB model would be beneficial for medical educators, supervisors, and managers to help them understand the importance and implications of having IRs within the workplace environment and the consequences of their accessibility for healthcare staff experiencing transitions

Effects of Age, Cognition, and Neural Encoding on the Perception of Temporal Speech Cues

Partial funding for Open Access provided by the UMD Libraries' Open Access Publishing Fund.Older adults commonly report difficulty understanding speech, particularly in adverse listening environments. These communication difficulties may exist in the absence of peripheral hearing loss. Older adults, both with normal hearing and with hearing loss, demonstrate temporal processing deficits that affect speech perception. The purpose of the present study is to investigate aging, cognition, and neural processing factors that may lead to deficits on perceptual tasks that rely on phoneme identification based on a temporal cue – vowel duration. A better understanding of the neural and cognitive impairments underlying temporal processing deficits could lead to more focused aural rehabilitation for improved speech understanding for older adults. This investigation was conducted in younger (YNH) and older normal-hearing (ONH) participants who completed three measures of cognitive functioning known to decline with age: working memory, processing speed, and inhibitory control. To evaluate perceptual and neural processing of auditory temporal contrasts, identification functions for the contrasting word-pair WHEAT and WEED were obtained on a nine-step continuum of vowel duration, and frequency-following responses (FFRs) and cortical auditory-evoked potentials (CAEPs) were recorded to the two endpoints of the continuum. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to determine the cognitive, peripheral, and/or central mechanisms that may contribute to perceptual performance. YNH participants demonstrated higher cognitive functioning on all three measures compared to ONH participants. The slope of the identification function was steeper in YNH than in ONH participants, suggesting a clearer distinction between the contrasting words in the YNH participants. FFRs revealed better response waveform morphology and more robust phase-locking in YNH compared to ONH participants. ONH participants also exhibited earlier latencies for CAEP components compared to the YNH participants. Linear regression analyses revealed that cortical processing significantly contributed to the variance in perceptual performance in the WHEAT/WEED identification functions. These results suggest that reduced neural precision contributes to age-related speech perception difficulties that arise from temporal processing deficits