Acute effects of exercise on self-regulation of snacking-related variables among habitual snackers

Theories of health behaviour change largely focus on two process, one involving cognitions and one involving more automated and responsive behaviour (Rothman, Sheeran, & Wood, 2009). The former theories focus on beliefs and attitudes, planning, intentions and goal focused actions. The latter focus on capacity to self-control actions in certain situations. Self-regulation theory considers the effort that people invest to control their own responses to achieve particular goals (Vohs & Baumeister, 2004). Within theories of addiction, self-control is fundamentally challenged. Incentive-Sensitization theory (Robinson & Berridge, 1993) suggests that cues become associated with incentive value and a sensitised motivational response. Despite the best of intentions to avoid a certain unhealthy behaviour, a learned automatic response becomes the norm. Only recently have aspects of eating become linked to addictive behaviour (Avena, Rada, & Hoebel, 2008; Benton, 2010) and the idea of building self-regulatory capacity is of increasing interest (Johnson, Pratt & Wardle, 2011). Short single bouts of exercise appear to reduce self-reported cravings, engagement in addictive behaviours, and salience of cues associated with the behaviour for smokers (Taylor, Ussher, & Faulkner, 2007), and rehabilitating alcoholics (Ussher, Sampuran, Doshi, West, & Drummond, 2004). Regular exercise may also have benefits on self-regulation of other behaviour (Oaten & Cheng, 2006; Ussher, Taylor & Faulkner, 2008). Studies of animals addicted to various substances also support the idea that physical activity attenuates consumption (e.g., Smith, Schmidt, Iordanou, & Mustroph, 2008). The aims of this thesis were to examine the effect of a short bout of exercise on self-regulatory processes associated with snacking involving behavioural observation, self-report measures, direct and indirect measures of attentional bias. Also the effects of different intensities of exercise, level of stress, participant weight, smoking status, and period of abstinence were explored. In Study 1, ad libitum chocolate consumption was measured in a simulated workplace (low and high stress situation via Stroop task). The effect of prior moderate intensity exercise (a 15 min-brisk walk) was compared with a passive condition in a randomised 2 x 2 factorial design, involving 78 abstaining regular chocolate eaters. The main findings of Study 1 were that the two (low & high stress) exercise groups ate significantly less chocolate than the passive groups. The manipulation of different stress situations did not influence the effect of exercise on chocolate consumption. Study 2 and Study 3 involved a randomised counterbalanced cross-over design in which the effects of exercise were compared with a passive condition. In Study 2, the effect of moderate intensity exercise (a 15 min brisk walk) on self-reported craving and attentional bias (using a visual dot probe task, with chocolate and neutral images presented in matched pairs) (both measured before and after each condition) were assessed among different groups (normal and overweight people, and 1 day and > 1 week (during Lent) chocolate abstainers) with a total of 58 participants. Exercise significantly reduced chocolate craving and attentional bias to chocolate images compared with a passive condition and the effects were similar irrespective of Body Mass Index and abstinence period. In Study 3, given that abstinent smokers are at risk of emotional eating and weight gain, regular smokers and snackers were asked to abstain from smoking. Self-reported craving and attentional bias (using an eye tracking technology with short video clips) for both snack foods and cigarettes (presented alongside neutral images) were measured. The effects of two different intensities of exercise (i.e., 15 mins of moderate and vigorous intensity cycling) were examined among 23 temporarily abstinent smokers compared with a passive condition. The findings revealed that subjective snack cravings and strength of desire to smoke were reduced during and immediately after both moderate and vigorous exercise. In terms of attentional bias, initial attentional bias (% of first fixation) to snacking/smoking images were reduced after both intensities of exercise and maintained attentional biases (% of dwell time) to snacking/smoking images were reduced only after vigorous exercise. Overall, the series of studies found that a short bout of moderate intensity exercise appears to reduce cravings and attentional bias to snack-related food cues, and the effects were similar among different groups, different type/intensity of exercise, and different measures of cravings. The findings of this thesis have therefore suggested that compared with being sedentary a short bout of physical activity may help to enhance self-regulation of snacking among people with a habit of snacking, particularly with chocolate

RECIPE: How to Integrate ChatGPT into EFL Writing Education

The integration of generative AI in the field of education is actively being explored. In particular, ChatGPT has garnered significant interest, offering an opportunity to examine its effectiveness in English as a foreign language (EFL) education. To address this need, we present a novel learning platform called RECIPE (Revising an Essay with ChatGPT on an Interactive Platform for EFL learners). Our platform features two types of prompts that facilitate conversations between ChatGPT and students: (1) a hidden prompt for ChatGPT to take an EFL teacher role and (2) an open prompt for students to initiate a dialogue with a self-written summary of what they have learned. We deployed this platform for 213 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in EFL writing courses and seven instructors. For this study, we collect students' interaction data from RECIPE, including students' perceptions and usage of the platform, and user scenarios are examined with the data. We also conduct a focus group interview with six students and an individual interview with one EFL instructor to explore design opportunities for leveraging generative AI models in the field of EFL education

Acute effects of exercise on self-regulation of snacking-related variables among habitual snackers

Theories of health behaviour change largely focus on two process, one involving cognitions and one involving more automated and responsive behaviour (Rothman, Sheeran, & Wood, 2009). The former theories focus on beliefs and attitudes, planning, intentions and goal focused actions. The latter focus on capacity to self-control actions in certain situations. Self-regulation theory considers the effort that people invest to control their own responses to achieve particular goals (Vohs & Baumeister, 2004). Within theories of addiction, self-control is fundamentally challenged. Incentive-Sensitization theory (Robinson & Berridge, 1993) suggests that cues become associated with incentive value and a sensitised motivational response. Despite the best of intentions to avoid a certain unhealthy behaviour, a learned automatic response becomes the norm. Only recently have aspects of eating become linked to addictive behaviour (Avena, Rada, & Hoebel, 2008; Benton, 2010) and the idea of building self-regulatory capacity is of increasing interest (Johnson, Pratt & Wardle, 2011). Short single bouts of exercise appear to reduce self-reported cravings, engagement in addictive behaviours, and salience of cues associated with the behaviour for smokers (Taylor, Ussher, & Faulkner, 2007), and rehabilitating alcoholics (Ussher, Sampuran, Doshi, West, & Drummond, 2004). Regular exercise may also have benefits on self-regulation of other behaviour (Oaten & Cheng, 2006; Ussher, Taylor & Faulkner, 2008). Studies of animals addicted to various substances also support the idea that physical activity attenuates consumption (e.g., Smith, Schmidt, Iordanou, & Mustroph, 2008). The aims of this thesis were to examine the effect of a short bout of exercise on self-regulatory processes associated with snacking involving behavioural observation, self-report measures, direct and indirect measures of attentional bias. Also the effects of different intensities of exercise, level of stress, participant weight, smoking status, and period of abstinence were explored. In Study 1, ad libitum chocolate consumption was measured in a simulated workplace (low and high stress situation via Stroop task). The effect of prior moderate intensity exercise (a 15 min-brisk walk) was compared with a passive condition in a randomised 2 x 2 factorial design, involving 78 abstaining regular chocolate eaters. The main findings of Study 1 were that the two (low & high stress) exercise groups ate significantly less chocolate than the passive groups. The manipulation of different stress situations did not influence the effect of exercise on chocolate consumption. Study 2 and Study 3 involved a randomised counterbalanced cross-over design in which the effects of exercise were compared with a passive condition. In Study 2, the effect of moderate intensity exercise (a 15 min brisk walk) on self-reported craving and attentional bias (using a visual dot probe task, with chocolate and neutral images presented in matched pairs) (both measured before and after each condition) were assessed among different groups (normal and overweight people, and 1 day and > 1 week (during Lent) chocolate abstainers) with a total of 58 participants. Exercise significantly reduced chocolate craving and attentional bias to chocolate images compared with a passive condition and the effects were similar irrespective of Body Mass Index and abstinence period. In Study 3, given that abstinent smokers are at risk of emotional eating and weight gain, regular smokers and snackers were asked to abstain from smoking. Self-reported craving and attentional bias (using an eye tracking technology with short video clips) for both snack foods and cigarettes (presented alongside neutral images) were measured. The effects of two different intensities of exercise (i.e., 15 mins of moderate and vigorous intensity cycling) were examined among 23 temporarily abstinent smokers compared with a passive condition. The findings revealed that subjective snack cravings and strength of desire to smoke were reduced during and immediately after both moderate and vigorous exercise. In terms of attentional bias, initial attentional bias (% of first fixation) to snacking/smoking images were reduced after both intensities of exercise and maintained attentional biases (% of dwell time) to snacking/smoking images were reduced only after vigorous exercise. Overall, the series of studies found that a short bout of moderate intensity exercise appears to reduce cravings and attentional bias to snack-related food cues, and the effects were similar among different groups, different type/intensity of exercise, and different measures of cravings. The findings of this thesis have therefore suggested that compared with being sedentary a short bout of physical activity may help to enhance self-regulation of snacking among people with a habit of snacking, particularly with chocolate.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Emotional Laour in Teaching Secondary Physical Education

Background: Teaching physical education is an emotion-laden context which requires physical education teachers to engage in emotional labor in order to foster their well-being, as well as student’s outcomes. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictability of emotional labour strategies on job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion among secondary physical education teachers in South Korea. Specifically, the four forms of emotional labour (i.e., surface acting, deep acting, genuine positive expression, and genuine negative expression) were hypothesized to have different influences on job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion. Method: A total of 225 full-time physical education teachers were invited to participate in the paper-pencil survey. The questionnaires contained items measuring the four forms of emotional labour, emotional exhaustion, and job satisfaction which had been modified to fit the physical education setting. Results: The results indicated that surface acting, genuine positive expression, and genuine expression was significantly associated with emotional exhaustion whereas only genuine positive expression was significantly associated with job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion. Finally, emotional exhaustion mediates the relationship between surface acting and job satisfaction, genuine positive expression and job satisfaction, and genuine negative expression and job satisfaction. Conclusion: These results suggest that emotional labour plays a critical role on physical education teachers’ well-being and job attitude. Keywords: emotional regulation, physical education teacher, genuine expression, Asian culture, surface actin

Emotional Laour in Teaching Secondary Physical Education

Background: Teaching physical education is an emotion-laden context which requires physical education teachers to engage in emotional labor in order to foster their well-being, as well as student’s outcomes. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictability of emotional labour strategies on job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion among secondary physical education teachers in South Korea. Specifically, the four forms of emotional labour (i.e., surface acting, deep acting, genuine positive expression, and genuine negative expression) were hypothesized to have different influences on job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion. Method: A total of 225 full-time physical education teachers were invited to participate in the paper-pencil survey. The questionnaires contained items measuring the four forms of emotional labour, emotional exhaustion, and job satisfaction which had been modified to fit the physical education setting. Results: The results indicated that surface acting, genuine positive expression, and genuine expression was significantly associated with emotional exhaustion whereas only genuine positive expression was significantly associated with job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion. Finally, emotional exhaustion mediates the relationship between surface acting and job satisfaction, genuine positive expression and job satisfaction, and genuine negative expression and job satisfaction. Conclusion: These results suggest that emotional labour plays a critical role on physical education teachers’ well-being and job attitude.  Keywords: emotional regulation, physical education teacher, genuine expression, Asian culture, surface actin

Towards Visualization Thumbnail Designs That Entice Reading Data-Driven Articles

As online news increasingly include data journalism, there is a corresponding increase in the incorporation of visualization in article thumbnail images. However, little research exists on the design rationale for visualization thumbnails, such as resizing, cropping, simplifying, and embellishing charts that appear within the body of the associated article. Therefore, in this paper we aim to understand these design choices and determine what makes a visualization thumbnail inviting and interpretable. To this end, we first survey visualization thumbnails collected online and discuss visualization thumbnail practices with data journalists and news graphics designers. Based on the survey and discussion results, we then define a design space for visualization thumbnails and conduct a user study with four types of visualization thumbnails derived from the design space. The study results indicate that different chart components play different roles in attracting reader attention and enhancing reader understandability of the visualization thumbnails. We also find various thumbnail design strategies for effectively combining the charts' components, such as a data summary with highlights and data labels, and a visual legend with text labels and Human Recognizable Objects (HROs), into thumbnails. Ultimately, we distill our findings into design implications that allow effective visualization thumbnail designs for data-rich news articles. Our work can thus be seen as a first step toward providing structured guidance on how to design compelling thumbnails for data stories

The acute effects of physical activity on cigarette cravings: Exploration of potential moderators, mediators and physical activity attributes using individual participant data (IPD) meta-analyses

Rationale: The effects of acute bouts of physical activity (PA) on Strength of Desire (SoD) and Desire to Smoke (DtS) using individual participant data (IPD) from 19 acute randomised controlled studies were quantified. However, there is a need to identify factors influencing this relationship.  Objectives: To understand who most benefits from PA, whether changes in affect mediate these effects and whether any specific attributes of PA are associated with cigarette cravings.  Methods: IPD (n = 930) contributed to one-stage IPD meta-analyses. Participants engaging in PA were compared against controls, using post-intervention DtS and SoD (when DtS is not available) with baseline adjustments. The craving scales were linearly rescaled to 0-100 % (a mean difference between groups of -10 would indicate that post-intervention cravings were 10 % lower in the PA compared with the control group). Demographic, smoking and other characteristics were examined as predictors and potential moderators, whereas change in affect was considered as a mediator. PA was categorised according to type, duration and intensity, to determine PA attributes associated with cravings reduction.  Results: None of the included covariates were shown to moderate or mediate the effects of PA. Intensity of PA was significantly associated with a reduction in cravings; moderate and vigorous intensity PA offered the most benefits. A one-stage IPD meta-analysis yielded effect sizes of -9.22 (-15.24; -3.20) for light, -34.57 (-42.64; -26.50) for moderate and -31.29 (-38.00; -24.57) for vigorous intensity in comparison with controls.  Conclusions: Moderate intensity PA could be recommended to all smokers regardless of demographic, smoking and other characteristics

Oseltamivir-Resistant Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Virus, South Korea

To identify oseltamivir resistance, we analyzed neuraminidase H275Y mutations in samples from 10 patients infected with pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus in South Korea who had influenza that was refractory to antiviral treatment with this drug. A neuraminidase I117M mutation that might influence oseltamivir susceptibility was detected in sequential specimens from 1 patient

Expression analysis of combinatorial genes using a bi-cistronic T2A expression system in porcine fibroblasts.

In pig-to-primate xenotransplantation, multiple transgenic pigs are required to overcome a series of transplant rejections. The generation of multiple transgenic pigs either by breeding or the introduction of several mono-cistronic vectors has been hampered by the differential expression patterns of the target genes. To achieve simultaneous expression of multiple genes, a poly-cistronic expression system using the 2A peptide derived from the Thosea asigna virus (T2A) can be considered an alternative choice. Before applying T2A expression system to pig generation, the expression patterns of multiple genes in this system should be precisely evaluated. In this study, we constructed several bi-cistronic T2A expression vectors, which combine target genes that are frequently used in the xenotransplantation field, and introduced them into porcine fibroblasts. The proteins targeted to the same or different subcellular regions were efficiently expressed without affecting the localization or expression levels of the other protein. However, when a gene with low expression efficiency was inserted into the upstream region of the T2A sequences, the expression level of the downstream gene was significantly decreased compared with the expression efficiency without the insertion. A small interfering RNA targeting one gene in this system resulted in the significant downregulation of both the target gene and the other gene, indicating that multiple genes combined into a T2A expression vector can be considered as a single gene in terms of transcription and translation. In summary, the efficient expression of a downstream gene can be achieved if the expression of the upstream gene is efficient