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Frontiers in Psychology 2023This study explores the relationship between perceived school climate and exercise behavior among obese adolescents, as well as the multiple mediating effects of...
The impact of perceived school climate on exercise behavior engagement among obese adolescents: a dual mediation effect test of exercise benefits and perseverance qualities.
INTRODUCTION
This study explores the relationship between perceived school climate and exercise behavior among obese adolescents, as well as the multiple mediating effects of perseverance qualities and exercise benefits.
METHODS
A survey was conducted on 586 obese adolescents in Beijing, with an age range of 13-18 years old and an average age of 15.40 ± 1.824, among who 337 were male, 249 were female, 303 were high school students and 238 were middle school students. A standard scale was used to evaluate perceived school climate, exercise benefits, perseverance qualities, and exercise behaviors. The data was analyzed by independent samples -test, bivariate correlation analysis, descriptive statistical analysis, and structural equation model (SEM).
RESULTS
(1) Perceived school climate among obese adolescents positively predicted exercise behavior ( = 2.870, < 0.01), perseverance qualities ( = 3.107, < 0.01) and exercise benefits ( = 4.290, < 0.001); perseverance qualities positively predicted exercise behavior in obese adolescents ( = 4.431, < 0.001); exercise benefits positively predicted the obese adolescents' exercise behavior ( = 4.267, < 0.001). (2) Perseverance qualities ( = 2.282, 95% CI [0.032, 0.191], [0.028, 0.179]) and exercise benefits ( = 2.518, 95% CI [0.060, 0.287], [0.053, 0.271]) play a mediating role in the obese adolescents' perceived school climate and exercise behavior, respectively. These two factors have parallel multiple mediating effects between obese adolescents' perceived school climate and exercise behavior, with mediating effects accounting for 16 and 25%, respectively. The mediating effect of exercise benefits is greater than that of perseverance qualities. (3) There is no difference in the specific indirect effects of perseverance qualities and exercise benefits ( = -0.800, 95% CI [- 0.198, 0.064], [-0.190, 0.068]).
CONCLUSION
Obese adolescents' perception of school climate can effectively enhance their motivation to participate in exercise behavior and indirectly influence exercise behavior through exercise benefits and perseverance qualities, cultivate good physical exercise behavior among obese adolescents, and effectively prevent and intervene in the occurrence of obesity.
PubMed: 37854135
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1220362 -
Appetite Oct 2023Children's vegetable intake is low, despite benefits for immediate and long-term health. Repeatedly reoffering vegetables, role-modelling consumption, and offering...
Children's vegetable intake is low, despite benefits for immediate and long-term health. Repeatedly reoffering vegetables, role-modelling consumption, and offering non-food rewards effectively increase children's vegetable acceptance and intake. However, a number of barriers prevent families from reoffering previously-rejected vegetables. This study used the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) and the COM-B model of behaviour to explore barriers and enablers to reoffering, role-modelling and offering non-food rewards among parents of 2-4-year-old children. Twenty-five semi-structured interviews were conducted, from which eleven core inductive themes were generated: 'Child factors', 'Eating beliefs', 'Effectiveness beliefs', 'Past experience', 'Current family behaviours', 'Harms', 'Knowledge', 'Need for change', 'Parent effort', 'Parent values' and 'Practical issues'. The codes underpinning these themes were inductively mapped to 11 of the 14 TDF domains, and five of the six COM-B components. Previously-reported influences on families' vegetable feeding practices were confirmed, including concerns about child rejection of foods/meals, cost of vegetables, and food waste. Novel findings included some parents' perceptions that these practices are pressurising, and that certain beliefs/knowledge about children's eating behaviour can provide a "protective mindset" that supports families' perseverance with reoffering over time. Future interventions should be tailored to better reflect the diversity of needs and previous experiences of feeding that families have, with some families likely to find that troubleshooting and further signposting is appropriate for their needs while others might benefit from more persuasive and educational approaches. The mapping of codes to the TDF and COM-B will facilitate the identification of appropriate intervention functions and behaviour change techniques when designing new interventions to support families with increasing their children's vegetable intake.
Topics: Humans; Child, Preschool; Vegetables; Fruit; Refuse Disposal; Feeding Behavior; Parents; Reward
PubMed: 37442525
DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2023.106764 -
Frontiers in Neurology 2023The acknowledged role of external rewards in chronic stroke rehabilitation, offering positive reinforcement and motivation, has significantly contributed to patient...
INTRODUCTION
The acknowledged role of external rewards in chronic stroke rehabilitation, offering positive reinforcement and motivation, has significantly contributed to patient engagement and perseverance. However, the exploration of self-reward's importance in this context remains limited. This study aims to investigate the functional connectivity of the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a key node in the brain's reward circuitry, during motor task-based rehabilitation and its correlation with the recovery process.
METHODS
Twelve right-handed healthy volunteers (4 men, 8 women, aged 57.4 ± 11.3 years) and twelve chronic stroke patients (5 men, 7 women, aged 48.1 ± 11.1 years) with clinically significant right-sided motor impairment (mean FM-UE score of 27.6 ± 8.7) participated. The analysis employed the CONN toolbox to assess the association between motor tasks and VTA connectivity using psychophysiological interaction (PPI).
RESULTS
PPI analysis revealed motor-dependent changes in VTA connectivity, particularly with regions within the motor circuitry, cerebellum, and prefrontal cortex. Notably, stronger connectivity between the ipsilesional VTA and cerebellum was observed in healthy controls compared to chronic stroke patients, highlighting the importance of VTA-cerebellum interactions in motor function. Stroke patients' motor performance was associated with VTA modulation in areas related to both motor tasks and reward processing, emphasizing the role of self-reward processes in rehabilitation. Changes in VTA influence on motor circuitry were linked to improvements in motor performance resulting from rehabilitation.
DISCUSSION
Our findings underscore the potential of neuroimaging techniques in quantifying and predicting rehabilitation outcomes by examining self-reward processes. The observed associations between VTA connectivity and motor performance in both healthy and stroke-affected individuals emphasize the role of psychological factors, particularly self-reward, in the rehabilitation process. This study contributes valuable insights into the intricate interplay between reward circuits and motor function, highlighting the importance of addressing psychological dimensions in neurorehabilitation strategies.
PubMed: 38116106
DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1270783 -
Frontiers in Psychiatry 2023Crimes of passion, characterized as unpremeditated impulsive aggression, have garnered increasing attention in recent years. Impulsivity, a major factor in crimes of...
BACKGROUND
Crimes of passion, characterized as unpremeditated impulsive aggression, have garnered increasing attention in recent years. Impulsivity, a major factor in crimes of passion, is also a common feature of various health conditions, including Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Childhood maltreatment is considered a significant precursor to BPD and is closely related to impulsivity. Although prior research has affirmed the relationship between impulsivity, childhood maltreatment, BPD, and criminal behavior, few studies have examined these variables' interconnections within the context of crimes of passion. This study seeks to explore the relationship between childhood maltreatment, BPD, and impulsivity in crimes of passion, assessing the former's impact on the latter.
METHOD
Our research examined 133 crimes of passion offenders and 149 other offenders from the Shenzhen male prison in China. All 282 participants completed The Abbreviated Version of The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (ABIS), The UPPS Impulsivity Scale (Urgency, Premeditation, Perseverance, Sensation Seeking), The McLean Screening Instrument for Borderline Personality Disorder (MSI-BPD), and The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ).
RESULTS
Our findings indicated that (1) crimes of passion offenders scored significantly higher in emotional neglect, physical neglect, and overall childhood maltreatment than did other offenders, and childhood maltreatment scores were notably higher in the high BPD trait group. (2) Crimes of passion offenders demonstrated significantly elevated impulsivity in attention and nonplanning scales compared to other offenders. Impulsivity scores across all scales were also significantly higher in the high BPD trait group. (3) Emotional neglect was found to significantly influence the urgency scale in crimes of passion offenders. An interaction effect was noted between physical abuse and high BPD traits, leading to increased impulsivity in crimes of passion offenders.
CONCLUSION
This study underscores the predictive roles of childhood maltreatment and BPD in determining impulsivity within the context of crimes of passion.
PubMed: 37529070
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1159678 -
Journal of Microbiology & Biology... Dec 2023Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) is a pedagogical approach that has been shown to benefit all students, especially underrepresented minority students and peer leaders in...
Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) is a pedagogical approach that has been shown to benefit all students, especially underrepresented minority students and peer leaders in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. In this work, we present results from our study of the impact of PLTL on our peer leaders from a controlled implementation in general biology, general chemistry, and statistics courses at a Hispanic-serving, minority-serving institution. More specifically, we have measured our PLTL program's impact on our peer leaders' skill development, engagement with the subject material, and sense of belonging as peer leaders. Weekly peer leader reflections analyzed using the Dreyfus model exhibited a consistent set of skills, while those analyzed using the Pazos model revealed a consistent type of student-peer leader interactions, allowing for peer leaders to be assigned to specific levels in the hierarchy of each of the models. Analysis of eight skill-based Likert-scale questions on the SALG survey showed an overall positive shift at the highest level. Independent of the skill or interaction level of the peer leader, we observed several instances of peer leaders acknowledging development in their communication skills, sincere attempts at creating an engaging classroom, and a deep investment in their student's success. Peer leaders also reported improvements in understanding of the subjects they were teaching, wanting to persevere and solve problems independently, and feeling passionate about helping other students.
PubMed: 38108003
DOI: 10.1128/jmbe.00075-23 -
Nature Communications Apr 2024Raman spectroscopy provides non-destructive, label-free quantitative studies of chemical compositions at the microscale as used on NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars....
Raman spectroscopy provides non-destructive, label-free quantitative studies of chemical compositions at the microscale as used on NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars. Such capabilities come at the cost of high requirements for instrumentation. Here we present a centimeter-scale miniaturization of a Raman spectrometer using cheap non-stabilized laser diodes, densely packed optics, and non-cooled small sensors. The performance is comparable with expensive bulky research-grade Raman systems. It has excellent sensitivity, low power consumption, perfect wavenumber, intensity calibration, and 7 cm resolution within the 400-4000 cm range using a built-in reference. High performance and versatility are demonstrated in use cases including quantification of methanol in beverages, in-vivo Raman measurements of human skin, fermentation monitoring, chemical Raman mapping at sub-micrometer resolution, quantitative SERS mapping of the anti-cancer drug methotrexate and in-vitro bacteria identification. We foresee that the miniaturization will allow realization of super-compact Raman spectrometers for integration in smartphones and medical devices, democratizing Raman technology.
PubMed: 38589380
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47044-7 -
Astrobiology Sep 2023Permafrost is important from an exobiology and climate change perspective. It serves as an analog for extraplanetary exploration, and it threatens to emit globally...
Permafrost is important from an exobiology and climate change perspective. It serves as an analog for extraplanetary exploration, and it threatens to emit globally significant amounts of greenhouse gases as it thaws due to climate change. Viable microbes survive in Earth's permafrost, slowly metabolizing and transforming organic matter through geologic time. Ancient permafrost microbial communities represent a crucial resource for gaining novel insights into survival strategies adopted by extremotolerant organisms in extraplanetary analogs. We present a proof-of-concept study on ∼22 Kya permafrost to determine the potential for coupling Raman and fluorescence biosignature detection technology from the NASA Mars Perseverance rover with microbial community characterization in frozen soils, which could be expanded to other Earth and off-Earth locations. Besides the well-known utility for biosignature detection and identification, our results indicate that spectral mapping of permafrost could be used to rapidly characterize organic carbon characteristics. Coupled with microbial community analyses, this method has the potential to enhance our understanding of carbon degradation and emissions in thawing permafrost. Further, spectroscopy can be accomplished to mitigate sample transport challenges and in assessing and prioritizing frozen soils for further investigation. This method has broad-range applicability to understanding microbial communities and their associations with biosignatures and soil carbon and mineralogic characteristics relevant to climate science and astrobiology.
Topics: Carbon; Climate Change; Mars; Permafrost; Soil; Soil Microbiology
PubMed: 37566539
DOI: 10.1089/ast.2022.0155 -
Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria (Sao... Mar 2024To investigate the relationship between impulsivity and early trauma through a network analysis in individuals diagnosed with different substance use disorders (SUD).
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the relationship between impulsivity and early trauma through a network analysis in individuals diagnosed with different substance use disorders (SUD).
METHODS
This cross-sectional study includes a sample of 556 men with SUD (195 with alcohol use, 157 with crack cocaine use and 214 with multiple substance use). The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire was applied to investigate early trauma and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale to assess impulsive behavior. The connection between trauma and impulsivity was assessed using network analysis through Fused Graphical Lasso algorithm.
RESULTS
No connection was observed between impulsivity and trauma networks in individuals with alcohol use. In cocaine users, networks were linked through the motor domain and sexual abuse nodes. Inversely connections were observed between emotional neglect node and perseverance and not planning nodes. In poly-use, the connection between impulsivity and trauma networks was weak, with cognitive complexity being the node that connects to the trauma network through physical abuse. There were inversely proportional connections between motor domain and emotional neglect nodes, and cognitive instability and physical neglect.
CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that the relationship between the type of early (childhood) trauma and the expression of impulsivity could lead to a different substance use profile.
PubMed: 38467463
DOI: 10.47626/1516-4446-2023-3265 -
Frontiers in Neuroscience 2023Studies suggest an involvement of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in reward prediction and processing, with reward-based learning relying on neural activity...
INTRODUCTION
Studies suggest an involvement of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in reward prediction and processing, with reward-based learning relying on neural activity in response to unpredicted rewards or non-rewards (reward prediction error, RPE). Here, we investigated the causal role of the vmPFC in reward prediction, processing, and RPE signaling by transiently modulating vmPFC excitability using transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS).
METHODS
Participants received excitatory or inhibitory tDCS of the vmPFC before completing a gambling task, in which cues signaled varying reward probabilities and symbols provided feedback on monetary gain or loss. We collected self-reported and evaluative data on reward prediction and processing. In addition, cue-locked and feedback-locked neural activity via magnetoencephalography (MEG) and pupil diameter using eye-tracking were recorded.
RESULTS
Regarding reward prediction (cue-locked analysis), vmPFC excitation (versus inhibition) resulted in increased prefrontal activation preceding loss predictions, increased pupil dilations, and tentatively more optimistic reward predictions. Regarding reward processing (feedback-locked analysis), vmPFC excitation (versus inhibition) resulted in increased pleasantness, increased vmPFC activation, especially for unpredicted gains (i.e., gain RPEs), decreased perseveration in choice behavior after negative feedback, and increased pupil dilations.
DISCUSSION
Our results support the pivotal role of the vmPFC in reward prediction and processing. Furthermore, they suggest that transient vmPFC excitation via tDCS induces a positive bias into the reward system that leads to enhanced anticipation and appraisal of positive outcomes and improves reward-based learning, as indicated by greater behavioral flexibility after losses and unpredicted outcomes, which can be seen as an improved reaction to the received feedback.
PubMed: 37650099
DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1219029 -
Health Psychology and Behavioral... 2023This study is the first to examine the relationship between character strengths, objective physical fitness, and physical activity in primary school children.
OBJECTIVE
This study is the first to examine the relationship between character strengths, objective physical fitness, and physical activity in primary school children.
DESIGN
This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016 and 2017 at a school in Japan. Main Outcome Measures: We obtained informed consent from 236 fourth-grade students; 122 fifth-grade students; and 142 sixth-grade students. After excluding participants with missing data, 473 children (247 boys and 226 girls; aged 9-12 years) with informed consent were included in the study. We measured character strengths, physical fitness, and/or physical activity of fourth- to sixth-grade participants.
RESULTS
Among boys, the total score of physical fitness was significantly associated with perseverance-honesty, courage-ideas, compassion-gratitude, and fairness-care ( < 0.05). Among girls, the total score of physical fitness was significantly associated with perseverance-honesty, courage-ideas, and compassion-gratitude ( < 0.05). Regarding the relationship between character strengths and physical activity, perseverance-honesty was significantly associated with total steps and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), whereas courage ideas were significantly associated with total steps ( < 0.05) in boys. In girls, perseverance-honesty was associated with MVPA ( < 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
Our findings revealed that character strengths are positively associated with objective physical fitness and physical activity in primary-school children.
PubMed: 37936634
DOI: 10.1080/21642850.2023.2278290