On the Adaptive Value of Paranormal Beliefs - a Qualitative Study

Ten female and five male participants (age range 28-50 years) were recruited at esoteric fairs or via esoteric chatrooms. In a guided face-to-face interview, they reported origins and contents of their beliefs in e.g. esoteric practices, supernatural beings, rebirthing, channeling. Transcripts of the tape-recorded reports were subjected to a qualitative analysis. Exhaustive categorization of the narratives' content revealed that paranormal beliefs were functional with regard to two fundamental motives - striving for mastery and valuing me and mine (striving for a positive evaluation of the self). Moreover, paranormal beliefs paved the way for goal-setting and leading a meaningful life but, on the negative side, could also result in social exclusion. Results are discussed with reference to the adaptive value of paranormal beliefs

On the Adaptive Value of Paranormal Beliefs - a Qualitative Study

Ten female and five male participants (age range 28–50 years) were recruited at esoteric fairs or via esoteric chatrooms. In a guided face-to-face interview, they reported origins and contents of their beliefs in e.g. esoteric practices, supernatural beings, rebirthing, channeling. Transcripts of the tape-recorded reports were subjected to a qualitative analysis. Exhaustive categorization of the narratives’ content revealed that paranormal beliefs were functional with regard to two fundamental motives – striving for mastery and valuing me and mine (striving for a positive evaluation of the self). Moreover, paranormal beliefs paved the way for goal-setting and leading a meaningful life but, on the negative side, could also result in social exclusion. Results are discussed with reference to the adaptive value of paranormal beliefs

Effects of stepping exergames under stable versus unstable conditions on balance and strength in healthy community-dwelling older adults: A three-armed randomized controlled trial

This non-blinded, three-armed randomized controlled trial aimed at comparing the effects of volitional step training under stable and unstable conditions on balance, mobility and strength adaptations. Fifty-one healthy and active older adults (age = 69.4 ± 5.6 years; BMI = 27.4 ± 4.6, physical activity = 9.2 ± 5.1 h/week) were allocated to either volitional stepping (VOL), volitional stepping under unstable conditions (VOL + US) or a control group (CON) using the minimization method. Participants underwent eight weeks of exergames based step training with three sessions per week. Pre- and Post-testing included reactive balance (postural sway upon perturbation), functional balance (Y-balance test) and mobility (timed up and go test) to compare the effects of both intervention groups. Strength was tested using the heel rise test and isometric leg extension and leg curl assessment to compare transfer effects of the intervention groups. Data of 45 participants was finally analyzed. Adherence was 87 ± 5% in the VOL + US group and 86 ± 6% in the VOL group. No adverse events occurred. Increased reactive balance was observed in VOL + US only (p  0.05). Explosive strength (rate of force development) showed insignificant but medium interaction effects of the leg extensors in favor of VOL + US (p = 0.08, η2p = 0.12, SMD = 0.2). Volitional step training is an appealing and effective training tool to improve functional balance and calf strength in healthy older adults. Unstable volitional stepping seems to be superior in improving reactive balance and functional mobility under dual-task conditions. It appears that the volitional stepping under unstable conditions requires motor skills relevant for preventing falls since it is more tasks specific when compared to volitional stepping under stable conditions

Towards reconstruction of past fire regimes from geochemical analysis of charcoal

Production of charcoal has accompanied human life from the beginning. We aimed at evaluating the degree to which the chemical signatures of charcoal may serve as a fingerprint for burning conditions. After a compilation of fire literature we differentiated three typical fire regimes [grass and forest ground (285 ± 143 °C), shrub (503 ± 211 °C) and domestic fires (797 ± 165 °C)] and three main factors impacting on charcoal formation: charring duration, temperature and fuel. For fingerprint calibration and validation, typical fuels of prehistoric burning events (wood and grass) were charred under laboratory conditions (300–700 °C; varying duration) and compared with residues from natural fires in SE Europe. Analysis comprised assessment of benzene polycarboxylic acids (BPCAs), organic carbon (Corg) content, nitrogen content, oxygen index (OI, CO2/Corg) and hydrogen index (HI, HC/Corg), temperature of maximum heating (Tmax) and mid-infrared spectroscopy (MIRS). All parameters including mass loss increased with increasing combustion temperature, but were unaffected by charring duration. Grass charcoal had consistently lower Corg content and HI than wood, but values showed a bias towards the natural charcoals, probably because the latter contained higher amounts of mineral matter or were combusted under greater O2 supply. Nevertheless, natural charcoals could be differentiated into forest ground fires (B5CA/B6CA 1.3–1.9; OI > 20; intense CH2 stretching, Tmax 20; weak CH2 stretching, Tmax < 425 °C), whereas domestic fires revealed B5CA/B6CA values <0.8, OI values <20 and little MIRS absorbance. In summary, it appears possible to reconstruct fire regimes from the temperature sensitivity of BPCA patterns, Tmax, OI and aromatic and aliphatic MIRS signals, whereas assignment of fuel source was less reliable