Is Fitspiration Truly an Inspiration? Relationships between Fitspiration, Exercise, and Body Image

Young adults across the United States struggle to meet physical activity recommendations and consume healthy diets, and they often suffer from issues related to body image. Social media influencers dedicated to fitspiration (i.e., fitness inspiration) are purported to have a goal of inspiring others to lead healthier lifestyles. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between fitspiration and exercise and body image perceptions amongst college students. Participants (n = 361, mean age = 20.2 years, 78% female) completed surveys that included sociodemographic information, social media usage, fitspiration content engagement, exercise, and body satisfaction. An independent samples t-test assessed differences in exercise by fitspiration viewership, and a chi-square analysis determined relationships between fitspiration and body satisfaction. Participants were routinely active on social media (91% use it for \u3e 1 hour per day), and 61.5% were exposed to fitspiration content. Approximately 41% of respondents have followed exercise advice from fitspiration influencers, though only 11% reported having purchased products. No relationships were reported between following fitspiration and days per week of exercise (M∆ = .02(.20), p = .91). Participants that followed fitspiration were more likely to be dissatisfied with their bodies, X2 (1, n = 316) =7.77, p = .005, compared to participants who did not. Findings demonstrate fitspiration was not related to exercise and was related to poorer body image perceptions among college students. These results are supported by previous findings and indicate a critical misalignment between the purported purpose of fitspiration and the outcome of its viewing

Graphene-based Josephson junction single photon detector

We propose to use graphene-based Josephson junctions (gJjs) to detect single photons in a wide electromagnetic spectrum from visible to radio frequencies. Our approach takes advantage of the exceptionally low electronic heat capacity of monolayer graphene and its constricted thermal conductance to its phonon degrees of freedom. Such a system could provide high sensitivity photon detection required for research areas including quantum information processing and radio-astronomy. As an example, we present our device concepts for gJj single photon detectors in both the microwave and infrared regimes. The dark count rate and intrinsic quantum efficiency are computed based on parameters from a measured gJj, demonstrating feasibility within existing technologies.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, and 1 table in the main tex

Population structure and gene flow in the global pest, Helicoverpa armigera

Helicoverpa armigerais a major agricultural pest that is distributed across Europe, Asia, Africa and Australasia. This species is hypothesized to have spread to the Americas 1.5million years ago, founding a population that is at present, a distinct species,Helicoverpa zea. In 2013,H.armigerawas confirmed to have re-entered South America via Brazil and subsequently spread. The source of the recent incursion is unknown and population structure inH.armigerais poorly resolved, but a basic understanding would highlight potential biosecurity failures and determine the recent evolutionary history of region-specific lineages. Here, we integrate several end points derived from high-throughput sequencing to assess gene flow inH.armigeraandH.zeafrom populations across six continents. We first assemble mitochondrial genomes to demonstrate the phylogenetic relationship ofH.armigerawith other Heliothine species and the lack of distinction between populations. We subsequently usede novogenotyping-by-sequencing and whole-genome sequences aligned to bacterial artificial chromosomes, to assess levels of admixture. Primarily, we find that BrazilianH.armigeraare derived from diverse source populations, with strong signals of gene flow from European populations, as well as prevalent signals of Asian and African ancestry. We also demonstrate a potential field-caught hybrid betweenH.armigeraandH.zea,and are able to provide genomic support for the presence of theH.armigera confertasubspecies in Australasia. While structure among the bulk of populations remains unresolved, we present distinctions that are pertinent to future investigations as well as to the biosecurity threat posed byH.armigera

Trace-Metal Scavenging From Biomass Syngas With Novel High-Temperature Sorbents

Effective syngas cleanup is one of the remaining major technical challenges yet to be resolved and one that will provide the most benefit to the suite of bio-thermochemical process technologies. Beyond tars and acid gases, which are themselves a significant detriment to reforming catalysts and associated equipment, semi-volatile metals can also damage cleanup systems, catalysts, and contaminate the fungible products. Metals are a difficult challenge to deal with whether using hot-gas filtration or low-temperature processing. Even though most of the metal tends to condense before the barrier filter of hot-gas cleanup systems, some small percentage of the metal (large enough to damage syngas-reforming catalysts, the candle filters themselves, and gas turbine blades) does pass through these barrier filters along with the clean syngas. Low-temperature processing requires expensive measures to remove metals from the process stream. Significant costs are required to remove these metals and if they are not removed before contacting the catalyst, they will significantly reduce the life of the catalyst. One approach to solving the metals problem is to use high-temperature sorbents to capture all of the semi-volatile metals upstream of the barrier filter, which would prevent even small amounts of metal from passing through the filter with the clean syngas. High Temperature sorbents have already been developed that have been shown to be effective at capturing semi-volatile metals from vitiated combustion effluent, i.e., high-temperature flue gas. The objective on this project was to evaluate these same sorbents for their ability to scavenge metals from inert, reducing, and real syngas environments. Subsequently, it was the objective of this project to develop designer sorbents and an injection technology that would optimize the effectiveness of these sorbents at capturing metals from syngas, protecting the barrier filters from damage, and protecting the catalysts and other downstream equipment from damage. Finally, the high-temperature sorbent technology would be expanded to look at the role that these sorbents play in relation to tars and acid gases, which are the other significant pollutants within syngas. In addition to the technology development work described above, all of the information obtained in this work was to be incorporated into a syngas speciation model, which would allow direct prediction of transformations that occur in syngas as it passes from the gasifier and the sorbent-injection section and through the barrier filters. Unfortunately, Congressional budget cuts prevented most of this work from being accomplished. Hopefully, additional funds will be provided to this work in the future, which will allow its completion. However, at the halting point of this project, the following has been accomplished. A major initial objective of the project was accomplished, which was to determine whether or not high-temperature sorbents found to work within vitiated air might also work in an inert environment. Kaolinite, one of the sorbents previously investigated as a high-temperature sorbent for incinerators, was found to effectively capture potassium. In addition, while previous work on short-time (i.e., 1 to 2 seconds) dispersed-phase reactions found that sorbent utilization was limited to two metal oxide species captured for every one aluminosilicate crystal structure, the present investigation found that many times higher insoluble metal/sorbent capture ratios were obtained. This result not only suggests that small additions of sorbent might be highly effective, but the fact that the products were insoluble (in part due to the temperature of sorbent injection, i.e., < 1500 F) may be an indication that the products are unlikely to react with, corrode, or otherwise damage the candle-filter elements. There has been little work on the capture of potassium metal vapor by high-temperature sorbents, prior to this work. The fact that potassium can be effectively captured by kaolinite clay powder is a significant finding of this work, which applies both to combustion and gasification. The effect of different temperatures and pressures on the effectiveness of sorbent at capturing metal and protecting the filters needs to be evaluated. The impact of tars on sorbents and sorbents on tars also needs to be considered, and is one of the major questions about this technology. There is much left to be done in this area, which if performed will greatly benefit the advancement of this technology and the world through its application

3D Spectrophotometry of Planetary Nebulae in the Bulge of M31

We introduce crowded field integral field (3D) spectrophotometry as a useful technique for the study of resolved stellar populations in nearby galaxies. As a methodological test, we present a pilot study with selected extragalactic planetary nebulae (XPN) in the bulge of M31, demonstrating how 3D spectroscopy is able to improve the limited accuracy of background subtraction which one would normally obtain with classical slit spectroscopy. It is shown that due to the absence of slit effects, 3D is a most suitable technique for spectrophometry. We present spectra and line intensities for 5 XPN in M31, obtained with the MPFS instrument at the Russian 6m BTA, INTEGRAL at the WHT, and with PMAS at the Calar Alto 3.5m Telescope. Using 3D spectra of bright standard stars, we demonstrate that the PSF is sampled with high accuracy, providing a centroiding precision at the milli-arcsec level. Crowded field 3D spectrophotometry and the use of PSF fitting techniques is suggested as the method of choice for a number of similar observational problems, including luminous stars in nearby galaxies, supernovae, QSO host galaxies, gravitationally lensed QSOs, and others.Comment: (1) Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam, (2) University of Durham. 18 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Long-term behavioural rewriting of maladaptive drinking memories via reconsolidation-update mechanisms

BACKGROUND: Alcohol use disorders can be conceptualised as a learned pattern of maladaptive alcohol-consumption behaviours. The memories encoding these behaviours centrally contribute to long-term excessive alcohol consumption and are therefore an important therapeutic target. The transient period of memory instability sparked during memory reconsolidation offers a therapeutic window to directly rewrite these memories using targeted behavioural interventions. However, clinically-relevant demonstrations of the efficacy of this approach are few. We examined key retrieval parameters for destabilising naturalistic drinking memories and the ability of subsequent counterconditioning to effect long-term reductions in drinking. METHODS: Hazardous/harmful beer-drinking volunteers (N = 120) were factorially randomised to retrieve (RET) or not retrieve (No RET) alcohol reward memories with (PE) or without (No PE) alcohol reward prediction error. All participants subsequently underwent disgust-based counterconditioning of drinking cues. Acute responses to alcohol were assessed pre- and post-manipulation and drinking levels were assessed up to 9 months. RESULTS: Greater long-term reductions in drinking were found when counterconditioning was conducted following retrieval (with and without PE), despite a lack of short-term group differences in motivational responding to acute alcohol. Large variability in acute levels of learning during counterconditioning was noted. 'Responsiveness' to counterconditioning predicted subsequent responses to acute alcohol in RET + PE only, consistent with reconsolidation-update mechanisms. CONCLUSIONS: The longevity of behavioural interventions designed to reduce problematic drinking levels may be enhanced by leveraging reconsolidation-update mechanisms to rewrite maladaptive memory. However, inter-individual variability in levels of corrective learning is likely to determine the efficacy of reconsolidation-updating interventions and should be considered when designing and assessing interventions

Toward Realistic Altruism: A Community-Based Field Experience

This is a study of the perceptions of preservice teachers engaged in a human services field experience and the college instructors responsible for teaching the Human Development course attached to the field experience. Student data came from semistructured focus group interviews and student journals maintained throughout the experience, faculty data from onc-onone semi-structured interviews. Using the constant comparative method, data for students and faculty were grouped as follows: a) what students do during their placements, b) benefits and challenges of the experience, c) connections built between their experiences in the field and in the classroom. Analysis indicated that while the experience is generally perceived as valuable, there are gaps between what students actually do and faculty perceptions. Also, certain types of placements are much more powerful than others in yielding desired results of empathy, awareness of diversity and teaching skills. Recommendations for increasing the benefits and minimizing knowledge gaps are discussed

The policy responses of tourism agencies to emerging digital skills constraints: A critical assessment of six countries

This paper analyses policies and practices designed to support digital transformation in the tourism workforce in six OECD countries, namely Germany, Greece, Iceland, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Data for the project were gathered via a questionnaire survey, interviews with key informants and examination of various policy documents in 2021. Contrasting practice in relation to digital skills development is revealed. Significant deficiencies are evident in relation to the availability of high-quality data, evaluation, understanding, leadership, and infrastructure among the six countries. Ways in which effective policy development might emerge are suggested

Speaking of That: Terms to Avoid or Reconsider in the Eating Disorders Field

Inspired by an article on 50 terms that, in the interest of clarity in scientific reasoning and communication in psychology, psychiatry, and allied fields, “should be avoided or at most be used sparingly and only with explicit caveats,”1 we propose a list of terms to avoid or think twice about before using when writing for the International Journal of Eating Disorders (IJED). Drawing upon our experience as reviewers or editors for the IJED, we generated an abridged list of such terms. For each term, we explain why it made our list and what alternatives we recommend. We hope that our list will contribute to improved clarity in scientific thinking about eating disorders, and that it will stimulate discussion of terms that may need to be reconsidered in our field's vocabulary to ensure the use of language that is respectful and sensitive to individuals who experience an eating disorder

Multi-Functional Carbon Fibre Composites using Carbon Nanotubes as an Alternative to Polymer Sizing

Carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRP) were introduced to the aerospace, automobile and civil engineering industries for their high strength and low weight. A key feature of CFRP is the polymer sizing - a coating applied to the surface of the carbon fibres to assist handling, improve the interfacial adhesion between fibre and polymer matrix and allow this matrix to wet-out the carbon fibres. In this paper, we introduce an alternative material to the polymer sizing, namely carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the carbon fibres, which in addition imparts electrical and thermal functionality. High quality CNTs are grown at a high density as a result of a 35 nm aluminium interlayer which has previously been shown to minimise diffusion of the catalyst in the carbon fibre substrate. A CNT modified-CFRP show 300%, 450% and 230% improvements in the electrical conductivity on the ‘surface’, ‘through-thickness’ and ‘volume’ directions, respectively. Furthermore, through-thickness thermal conductivity calculations reveal a 107% increase. These improvements suggest the potential of a direct replacement for lightning strike solutions and to enhance the efficiency of current de-icing solutions employed in the aerospace industry