Goal Priming in Dieters: Recent Insights and Applications

What are the psychological mechanisms that make dieting so challenging in our food-rich living environment? Social psychological research on goal priming provides a useful framework for answering this question, as well as implications for how to enhance dieting success. This review presents and discusses recent research which shows that attractive food cues prime the hedonic eating goal in dieters, and thus facilitate overeating. However, external cues priming the goal of weight control can be used to offset these effects and thus to facilitate dieting success, as is demonstrated in both field and laboratory experiments. In addition, recent strategies to prevent hedonic effects of attractive food, such as mindful attention, can facilitate self-regulation. These recent advances in our understanding of dieting behavior have theoretical and practical implications for how successful dieting can be facilitated, both by means of individual strategies, as well as by environmental changes

Cognitive behavioural therapy in elderly type 2 diabetes patients with minor depression or mild major depression: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial (MIND-DIA)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The global prevalence of diabetes among adults will be 6.4% in 2010 and will increase to 7.7% by 2030. Diabetes doubles the odds of depression, and 9% of patients with diabetes are affected by depressive disorders. When subclinical depression is included, the proportion of patients who have clinically relevant depressive symptoms increases to 26%. In patients aged over 65 years, the interaction of diabetes and depression has predicted increased mortality, complications, disability, and earlier occurrence of all of these adverse outcomes. These deleterious effects were observed even in minor depression, where the risk of mortality within 7 years was 4.9 times higher compared with diabetes patients who did not have depressive symptoms. In this paper we describe the design and methods of the Minor Depression and Diabetes trial, a clinical trial within the 'Competence Network for Diabetes mellitus', which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>Patients' inclusion criteria are: Type 2 diabetes mellitus, 65 to 85 years of age, 3 to 6 depressive symptoms (minor depression or mild major depression). Our aim is to compare the efficacy of diabetes-specific cognitive behavioural therapy adapted for the elderly vs. intensified treatment as usual vs. a guided self-help intervention regarding improvement of health related quality of life as the primary outcome. The trial will be conducted as a multicentre, open, observer-blinded, parallel group (3 groups) randomized controlled trial. Patients will be randomized to one of the three treatment conditions. After 12 weeks of open-label therapy in all treatment conditions, both group interventions will be reduced to one session per month during the one-year long-term phase of the trial. At the one-year follow-up, all groups will be re-examined regarding the primary and secondary parameters, for example reduction of depressive symptoms, prevention of moderate/severe major depression, improvement of glycaemic control, mortality, and cost effectiveness. Depending on additional funding, the sample will be continuously observed as a prospective cohort; the primary outcome will be changed to mortality for all subsequent follow-up measurements.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Current Controlled Trials Register (ISRCTN58007098).</p

Within-trial economic evaluation of diabetes-specific cognitive behaviour therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes and subthreshold depression

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite the high prevalence of subthreshold depression in patients with type 2 diabetes, evidence on cost-effectiveness of different therapy options for these patients is currently lacking.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>Within-trial economic evaluation of the diabetes-specific cognitive behaviour therapy for subthreshold depression. Patients with diabetes and subthreshold depression are randomly assigned to either 2 weeks of diabetes-specific cognitive behaviour group therapy (n = 104) or to standard diabetes education programme only (n = 104). Patients are followed for 12 months. During this period data on total health sector costs, patient costs and societal productivity costs are collected in addition to clinical data. Health related quality of life (the SF-36 and the EQ-5D) is measured at baseline, immediately after the intervention, at 6 and at 12 months after the intervention. Quality adjusted life years (QALYs), and cumulative costs will be estimated for each arm of the trial. Cost-effectiveness of the diabetes-specific cognitive behaviour group therapy will be analysed from the perspective of the German statutory health insurance and from the societal perspective. To this end, incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) in terms of cost per QALY gained will be calculated.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Some methodological issues of the described economic evaluation are discussed.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>The trial has been registered at the Clinical Trials Register (NCT01009138).</p

Cost-effectiveness analysis of cognitive behaviour therapy for treatment of minor or mild-major depression in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes: study protocol for the economic evaluation alongside the MIND-DIA randomized controlled trial (MIND-DIA CEA)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Depression and elevated depression symptoms are more prevalent in patients with type 2 diabetes than in those without diabetes and are associated with adverse health outcomes and increased total healthcare utilization. This suggests that more effective depression treatment might not only improve health outcome, but also reduce costs. However, there is a lack of evidence on (cost-) effectiveness of treatment options for minor and mild-major depression in patients with type 2 diabetes. In this paper we describe the design and methods of the economic evaluation, which will be conducted alongside the MIND-DIA trial (Cognitive behaviour therapy in elderly type 2 diabetes patients with minor or mild-major depression). The objective of the economic evaluation (MIND-DIA CEA) is to examine incremental cost-effectiveness of a diabetes specific cognitive behaviour group therapy (CBT) as compared to intensified treatment as usual (TAU) and to a guided self-help group intervention (SH).</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>Patients will be followed for 15 months. During this period data on health sector costs, patient costs and societal productivity/time costs will be collected in addition to clinical data. Person-years free of moderate/severe major depression, quality adjusted life years (QALYs), and cumulative costs will be estimated for each arm of the trial (CBT, TAU and SH). To determine cost-effectiveness of the CBT, differences in costs and effects between the CBT group and TAU/SH group will be calculated.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>CBT is a potentially effective treatment option to improve quality of life and to avoid the onset of a moderate/severe major depression in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes and minor or mild-major depression. This hypothesis will be evaluated in the MIND-DIA trial. Based on these results the associated economic evaluation will provide additional evidence on the cost-effectiveness of CBT in this target population. Methodological strengths and weaknesses of the planned economic evaluation are discussed.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>The MIND-DIA study has been registered at the Current Controlled Trials Register (ISRCTN58007098).</p

QCD and strongly coupled gauge theories : challenges and perspectives

We highlight the progress, current status, and open challenges of QCD-driven physics, in theory and in experiment. We discuss how the strong interaction is intimately connected to a broad sweep of physical problems, in settings ranging from astrophysics and cosmology to strongly coupled, complex systems in particle and condensed-matter physics, as well as to searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. We also discuss how success in describing the strong interaction impacts other fields, and, in turn, how such subjects can impact studies of the strong interaction. In the course of the work we offer a perspective on the many research streams which flow into and out of QCD, as well as a vision for future developments.Peer reviewe

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field