Using a gamified monitoring app to change adolescents' snack intake : the development of the REWARD app and evaluation design

Background: As the snacking pattern of European adolescents is of great concern, effective interventions are necessary. Till now health promotion efforts in children and adolescents have had only limited success in changing adolescents' eating patterns and anthropometrics. Therefore, the present study proposes an innovative approach to influence dietary behaviors in youth based on new insights on effective behavior change strategies and attractive intervention channels to engage adolescents. This article describes the rationale, the development, and evaluation design of the 'Snack Track School' app. The aim of the app is to improve the snacking patterns of Flemish 14- to 16-year olds. Methods: The development of the app was informed by the systematic, stepwise, iterative, and collaborative principles of the Intervention Mapping protocol. A four week mHealth intervention was developed based on the dual-system model with behavioral change strategies targeting both the reflective (i.e., active learning, advance organizers, mere exposure, goal-setting, monitoring, and feedback) and automatic processes (i.e., rewards and positive reinforcement). This intervention will be evaluated via a controlled pre-post design in Flemish schools among 1400 adolescents. Discussion: When this intervention including strategies focused on both the reflective and automatic pathway proves to be effective, it will offer a new scientifically-based vision, guidelines and practical tools for public health and health promotion (i.e., incorporation of learning theories in intervention programs)

Electron–nuclear double resonance on copper (II) tetraimidazole

We have investigated the electron–nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) from frozen aqueous solutions of 65Cu++(imidazole)4, 65Cu++ (imidazole–15N)4, and 65Cu++(imidazole–Dn)4, where n = 1, 2, 3, and 4 for selectively deuterated imidazole. We have observed ENDOR associated with the imidazole protons and the two imidazole nitrogens. The selective deuteration has allowed us to attempt identification of the weakly coupled protons responsible for the ENDOR spectrum, and a comparison of the overall line shape of that spectrum taken at two extreme points of the EPR spectrum suggests that some of the imidazole planes are tilted with respect to the plane of the complex. The ENDOR arising from the nitrogen nearest the copper is primarily isotropic with A(g⊥) = 41.6±1.5 MHz and A(g∥) = 39.8±1.5 MHz. The resonance shows little structure and seems consistent with a picture that requires some inequivalence among the various imidazoles. The remote nitrogen ENDOR reveals both hyperfine and quadrupole effects with approximately isotropic A(14N) = 1.79 MHz, Qz′z′?0.360 MHz, and Qx′x′y′x′?0.349 MHz. These values are in agreement with the results of the nuclear modulation effect [J. Chem. Phys. 69, 4921 (1978)]. The values for the quadrupole constants are thought to be accurate within 10% and are the same as are found in free imidazole. It is also demonstrated that, in this instance, ENDOR and the nuclear modulation effect are complementary in that they have each provided different parts of the same hyperfine spectrum.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70838/2/JCPSA6-75-5-2098-1.pd