Forecasting Site-Specific Leaf Wetness Duration for Input to Disease-Warning Systems

Empirical models based on classification and regression tree analysis (CART model) or fuzzy logic (FL model) were used to forecast leaf wetness duration (LWD) 24 h into the future, using site-specific weather data estimates as inputs. Forecasted LWD and air temperature then were used as inputs to simulate performance of the Melcast and TOM-CAST disease-warning systems. Overall, the CART and FL models underpredicted LWD with a mean error (ME) of 2.3 and 3.9 h day^-1, respectively. The CFL model, a corrected version of the FL model using a weight value, reduced ME in LWD forecasts to -1.1 h day^-1. In the Melcast and TOM-CAST simulations, the CART and CFL models predicted timing of occurrence of action thresholds similarly to thresholds derived from on-site weather data measurements. Both models forecasted the exact spray dates for approximately 45% of advisories derived from measurements. When hindcast and forecast estimates derived from site-specific estimates provided by SkyBit Inc. were used as inputs, the CART and CFL models forecasted spray advisories within 3 days for approximately 70% of simulation periods for the Melcast and TOM-CAST disease-warning systems. The results demonstrate that these models substantially enhance the accuracy of commercial site-specific LWD estimates and, therefore, can enhance performance of disease-warning systems using LWD as an input.

Complementary and alternative medicines versus prescription drugs: perceptions of emergency department patients

BACKGROUND

The perceptions of emergency department (ED) patients towards complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) are poorly understood. We assessed these perceptions and compared CAM users with non-users, particularly regarding CAM safety and efficacy.

METHODS

This was an analytical, cross sectional survey of ED patients undertaken in a tertiary referral ED. A five point Likert scale evaluated patients' level of agreement with statements relating to CAM and prescription drugs.

RESULTS

Of 404 patients who were enrolled (participation rate 97.1%), 275 (68.1%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 63.2 to 72.5) were CAM users (had taken a CAM within the previous 12 months). There were 178 patients (44.1%, 95% CI 39.2 to 49.1) who agreed or strongly agreed that CAM are drug free, and there was no significant difference between CAM users and non-users (p = 0.77). There were 115 patients (28.5%, 95% CI 24.2 to 33.2) who agreed or strongly agreed that CAM are always safe to take with prescription drugs, and there were no significant difference between CAM users and non-users (p = 0.39). Significantly more CAM users agreed or strongly agreed that CAM are safe to take, can prevent people from becoming ill, allow people to be in charge of their own health, can treat the mind, body, and spirit, and are more effective than prescription drugs (p<0.01). Significantly fewer CAM users agreed or strongly agreed that prescription drugs are safe to take (p<0.001).

CONCLUSION

Considerable proportions of ED patients are CAM users yet are ignorant of the nature and potential toxicities of CAM. In addition, CAM users have significantly different perceptions of CAM and prescription drugs from non-users. The impact of these perceptions on clinical practice needs evaluation.

Affirmation of personal values buffers neuroendocrine and psychological stress responses

Stress is implicated in the development and progression of a broad array of mental and physical health disorders. Theory and research on the self suggest that self-affirming activities may buffer these adverse effects. This study experimentally investigated whether affirmations of personal values attenuate physiological and psychological stress responses. Eighty-five participants completed either a value-affirmation task or a control task prior to participating in a laboratory stress challenge. Participants who affirmed their values had significantly lower cortisol responses to stress, compared with control participants. Dispositional self-resources (e.g., trait self-esteem and optimism) moderated the relation between value affirmation and psychological stress responses, such that participants who had high self-resources and had affirmed personal values reported the least stress. These findings suggest that reflecting on personal values can keep neuroendocrine and psychological responses to stress at low levels. Implications for research on the self, stress processes, health, and interventions are discussed.

Relation of oxytocin to psychological stress responses and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis activity in older women

OBJECTIVE

Animal research suggests that oxytocin (OT) plays a role in stress responses and that in females, this role is modulated by estrogen. Yet little is known about the relation of OT to human stress responses. This study was conducted to examine the relations between estrogen activity and OT, identify stressors distinctively associated with elevations in OT, and investigate whether OT is related to cardiovascular and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) activity in a laboratory challenge paradigm.

METHODS

Seventy-three postmenopausal women who were on hormone therapy (HT) or not completed questionnaires assessing psychological distress and social relationships and then participated in a laboratory stress challenge (Trier Social Stress Task), during which OT, cortisol, and blood pressure were assessed.

RESULTS

HT was significantly associated with higher plasma OT. Controlling for HT, elevated plasma OT was significantly associated with gaps in social relationships, with less positive relationships with a primary partner, and with elevated cortisol levels. OT was not associated with stress reactivity or recovery.

CONCLUSION

In women, plasma OT signals relationship stress and is associated with elevated cortisol; it does not appear to significantly affect cortisol or blood pressure responses to acute stress.

Facial expressions of emotion reveal neuroendocrine and cardiovascular stress responses

BACKGROUND

The classic conception of stress involves undifferentiated negative affect and corresponding biological reactivity. The present study hypothesized a new conception that disaggregates stress into emotion-specific, contrasting patterns of biological response.

METHODS

Ninety-two healthy adults engaged in stress-challenge tasks, during which cardiovascular responses, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis responses (i.e., cortisol), emotional expressions (i.e., facial muscle movements), and subjective emotional experience (self-reported) were assessed.

RESULTS

Pronounced individual differences emerged in specific emotional responses to the stressors. Analyses of facial expressions revealed that the more fear individuals displayed in response to the stressors, the higher their cardiovascular and cortisol responses to stress. By contrast, the more anger and disgust (indignation) individuals displayed in response to the same stressors, the lower their cortisol levels and cardiovascular responses. Individual differences in optimistic appraisals appeared to mediate these correlated patterns.

CONCLUSIONS

Facial expressions of emotion signal biological responses to stress. Fear expressions signal elevated cortisol and cardiovascular reactivity; anger and disgust signal attenuated cortisol and cardiovascular reactivity, patterns that implicate individual differences in stress appraisals. Rather than conceptualizing stress as generalized negative affect, studies can be informed by this emotion-specific approach to stress responses.

Relation of childhood socioeconomic status and family environment to adult metabolic functioning in the CARDIA study

OBJECTIVE

Low SES and a conflict-ridden, neglectful, or harsh family environment in childhood have been linked to a high rate of physical health disorders in adulthood. The objective of the present investigation was to evaluate a model of the pathways that may help to explain these links and to relate them to metabolic functioning (MF) in the Coronary Artery Risk Development In Young Adults (CARDIA) dataset.

METHODS

Participants (n = 3225) in the year 15 assessment of CARDIA, age 33 to 45 years, completed measures of childhood socioeconomic status (SES), risky early family environment (RF), adult psychosocial functioning (PsyF, a latent factor measured by depression, hostility, positive and negative social contacts), and adult SES. Indicators of the latent factor MF were assessed, specifically, cholesterol, insulin, glucose, triglycerides, and waist circumference.

RESULTS

The overall prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 9.7%. Structural equation modeling indicated that childhood SES and RF are associated with MF via their association with PsyF (standardized path coefficients: childhood SES to RF -0.13, RF to PsyF 0.44, PsyF to MF 0.09, all p < .05), but also directly (coefficient from childhood SES to MF -0.12, p < .05), with good overall model fit. When this model was tested separately for race-sex subgroups, it fit best for white women, fit well for African-American women and white men, but did not fit well for African-American men.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that childhood SES and early family environment contribute to metabolic functioning through pathways of depression, hostility, and poor quality of social contacts.

Early environment, emotions, responses to stress, and health

A harsh early family environment is related to mental and physical health in adulthood. An important question is why family environment in childhood is associated with these outcomes so long after its initial occurrence. We describe a program of research that evaluates a model linking these variables to each other. Specifically, we hypothesize that low social competence and negative emotional states may mediate relations between a harsh early family environment and physiological/neuroendocrine responses to stress, as well as long-term health outcomes. We report evidence that the model characterizes self-rated health, cortisol responses to stress, and, in males only, elevated cardiovascular responses to stress. We discuss how the social context of early life (such as SES) may affect the family environment in ways that precipitate adverse health consequences. Perspectives on comorbidities in physical and mental health are discussed.

A multilocus population genetic survey of the greater sage-grouse across their range

The distribution and abundance of the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) have declined dramatically, and as a result the species has become the focus of conservation efforts. We conducted a range-wide genetic survey of the species which included 46 populations and over 1000 individuals using both mitochondrial sequence data and data from seven nuclear microsatellites. Nested clade and structure analyses revealed that, in general, the greater sage-grouse populations follow an isolation-by-distance model of restricted gene flow. This suggests that movements of the greater sage-grouse are typically among neighbouring populations and not across the species, range. This may have important implications if management is considering translocations as they should involve neighbouring rather than distant populations to preserve any effects of local adaptation. We identified two populations in Washington with low levels of genetic variation that reflect severe habitat loss and dramatic population decline. Managers of these populations may consider augmentation from geographically close populations. One population (Lyon/Mono) on the southwestern edge of the species' range appears to have been isolated from all other greater sage-grouse populations. This population is sufficiently genetically distinct that it warrants protection and management as a separate unit. The genetic data presented here, in conjunction with large-scale demographic and habitat data, will provide an integrated approach to conservation efforts for the greater sage-grouse.

The efficacy of pain control following nonsurgical root canal treatment using ibuprofen or a combination of ibuprofen and acetaminophen in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study

AIM

To compare ibuprofen, to an ibuprofen/acetaminophen combination in managing postoperative pain following root canal treatment. It is hypothesized that the drug combination will provide more postoperative pain relief than the placebo or ibuprofen alone.

METHODOLOGY

Patients presenting at the Texas A&M Baylor College of Dentistry's graduate endodontic clinic, experiencing moderate to severe pain, were considered potential candidates. Fifty-seven patients were included based on established criteria. Following administration of local anaesthesia, a pulpectomy was performed. The patients were administered a single dose of either: (i) placebo; (ii) 600 mg ibuprofen; or (iii) 600 mg ibuprofen and 1000 mg of acetaminophen. Patients recorded pain intensity following treatment on a visual analogue scale and a baseline four-point category pain scale as well as pain relief every hour for the first 4 h then every 2 h thereafter for a total of 8 h. A general linear model (GLM) analysis was used to analyse the outcome.

RESULTS

Based upon the GLM analysis, there was a significant difference between the ibuprofen and the combination drug group, and between placebo and combination drug groups. There was no significant difference between the placebo and the ibuprofen.

CONCLUSION

The results demonstrate that the combination of ibuprofen with acetaminophen may be more effective than ibuprofen alone for the management of postoperative endodontic pain.

What Makes Experiences Satisfying? The Interaction of Approach-Avoidance Motivations and Emotions in Well-Being

Two studies examined how dispositional approach-related and avoidance-related motivations moderate the degree to which people base satisfaction judgments on past experiences of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). Using both laboratory-based (Study 1) and experience sampling (Study 2) methodologies, the authors found that high approach participants, as compared with low approach participants, made satisfaction ratings that were more strongly tied to PA. In contrast, avoidance-related motivations did not moderate the degree to which satisfaction ratings were based on either PA or NA. Results indicate that approach motivations may influence well-being not only through emotion over time but also through the degree to which people weight particular emotional experiences in broader judgments of satisfaction.

Culture and Social Support: Who Seeks It and Why?

Are Asians and Asian Americans more or less likely to seek social support for dealing with stress than European Americans? On the one hand, the collectivist orientation of Asian countries might favor the sharing of stressful problems; on the other hand, efforts to maintain group harmony might discourage such efforts. In 2 studies, Koreans (Study 1) and Asians and Asian Americans in the United States (Study 2) reported using social support less for coping with stress than European Americans. Study 3 examined potential explanations for these effects and revealed that relationship concerns accounted for the cultural differences in use of support seeking. Discussion centers on the potential benefits and liabilities of seeking social support.

Finding positive meaning and its association with natural killer cell cytotoxicity among participants in a bereavement-related disclosure intervention

This study tested the hypothesis that cognitive processing about a past bereavement would produce increases in goals and priorities indicative of finding positive meaning from the loss. It was further hypothesized that increases in meaning-related goals would be associated with changes in immune function, specifically increased natural killer cell cytotoxicity (NKCC). Cognitive processing was manipulated using written emotional disclosure. Forty-three women who had lost a close relative to breast cancer wrote about the death (cognitive processing/disclosure group) or about nonemotional topics weekly for 4 weeks. Contrary to predictions, written disclosure did not induce changes in meaning-related goals or NK cell parameters. However, women in both experimental groups who reported positive changes in meaning-related goals over the study period also showed increases in NKCC. Results suggest that prioritizing goals emphasizing relationships, personal growth, and striving for meaning in life may have positive biological correlates but that solitary written disclosure may not be sufficient to induce changes in these goals in response to a past bereavement.

Development of a test device for evaluation of thrown object hazards

High-speed chains or rotating disks are commonly used to cut and process trees during forest harvesting operations. Mechanical failure or fatigue of these tools can lead to a potentially hazardous situation where fragments of chain or sawteeth are thrown through the operator enclosures on forest machines. Therefore, a test device is needed to evaluate the ability of a forest machine cab to resist puncture by thrown objects. This articles details the development of a high-pressure pneumatic launch system that propels sawteeth and chain fragments at velocities in excess of 150 m/s. This article also discusses the performance of the device following the first series of projectile launches.

Portrait of the self-enhancer: well adjusted and well liked or maladjusted and friendless?

Research has variously portrayed self-enhancement as an indicator of narcissistic defensiveness or as a concomitant of mental health. To address this controversy, the present study used multiple measures of self-enhancement along with multiple measures and judges of mental health, comprehensively assessing their relationship. The results indicated that self-enhancement is positively associated with multiple indicators of mental health and with a more favorable impact on others. Discussion centers on a reconciliation of discrepant portraits of the self-enhancer.

Are self-enhancing cognitions associated with healthy or unhealthy biological profiles?

Self-enhancement is variously portrayed as a positive illusion that can foster health and longevity or as defensive neuroticism that can have physiological-neuroendocrine costs. In a laboratory stress-challenge paradigm, the authors found that high self-enhancers had lower cardiovascular responses to stress, more rapid cardiovascular recovery, and lower baseline cortisol levels, consistent with the positive illusions predictions and counter to the predictions of the defensive neuroticism position. A second set of analyses, replicating the "illusory mental health paradigm" (J. Shedler, M. Mayman, & M. Manis, 1993), also did not support the defensive neuroticism hypothesis. The association between self-enhancement and cortisol was mediated by psychological resources; analyses of the cardiovascular results provided no definitive mediational pathway. Discussion centers on the potential stress-buffering effects of self-enhancing beliefs.

Accounting for changes in social support among married older adults: Insights from the MacArthur Studies of Successful Aging

Using longitudinal, community-based data from the MacArthur Studies of Successful Aging, the authors examined determinants of changes in social support receipt among 439 married older adults. In general, social support increased over time, especially for those with many preexisting social ties, but those experiencing more psychological distress and cognitive dysfunction reported more negative encounters with others. Gender affected social support receipt: Men received emotional support primarily from their spouses, whereas women drew more heavily on their friends and relatives and children for emotional support. Discussion centers on the importance of social support provision to those with the greatest needs.

Impact of health beliefs, quality of life, and the physician-patient relationship on the treatment intentions of inflammatory bowel disease patients

The research tested a model of treatment decision making in chronic illness that includes health beliefs, quality of life, and relationship with the physician (shared or not). Inflammatory bowel disease patients (N = 218) reported on their physician-patient relationship, general and disease-specific quality of life, and intentions to take a drug, for which perceived benefits and costs were manipulated. For more symptomatic patients, both costs and benefits predicted intentions; however, for less symptomatic patients, costs played a more important role. Physician recommendation predicted intention primarily among those who shared a decision-making relationship with their physician. Overall, the model accounted for 57.8% of the variance in medication-taking intention. Findings suggest that an integrative consideration of relationship factors, health beliefs, and health status may help explain treatment intentions among the chronically ill.

Risky families: family social environments and the mental and physical health of offspring

Risky families are characterized by conflict and aggression and by relationships that are cold, unsupportive, and neglectful. These family characteristics create vulnerabilities and/or interact with genetically based vulnerabilities in offspring that produce disruptions in psychosocial functioning (specifically emotion processing and social competence), disruptions in stress-responsive biological regulatory systems, including sympathetic-adrenomedullary and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical functioning, and poor health behaviors, especially substance abuse. This integrated biobehavioral profile leads to consequent accumulating risk for mental health disorders, major chronic diseases, and early mortality. We conclude that childhood family environments represent vital links for understanding mental and physical health across the life span.

Impact of health beliefs, quality of life, and the physician-patient relationship on the treatment intentions of inflammatory bowel disease patients

The research tested a model of treatment decision making in chronic illness that includes health beliefs, quality of life, and relationship with the physician (shared or not). Inflammatory bowel disease patients (N = 218) reported on their physician-patient relationship, general and disease-specific quality of life, and intentions to take a drug, for which perceived benefits and costs were manipulated. For more symptomatic patients, both costs and benefits predicted intentions; however, for less symptomatic patients, costs played a more important role. Physician recommendation predicted intention primarily among those who shared a decision-making relationship with their physician. Overall, the model accounted for 57.8% of the variance in medication-taking intention. Findings suggest that an integrative consideration of relationship factors, health beliefs, and health status may help explain treatment intentions among the chronically ill.

Model to Enhance Site-Specific Estimation of Leaf Wetness Duration

The ability of empirical models to enhance accuracy of site-specific estimates of leaf wetness duration (LWD) was assessed for 15 sites in Iowa, Nebraska, and Illinois during May to September of 1997, 1998, and 1999. Enhanced estimation of LWD was obtained by applying a 0.3-m height correction to SkyBit wind-speed estimates for input to the classification and regression tree/stepwise linear discriminant (CART/SLD) model (CART/SLD/Wind model), compared to either a proprietary model (SkyBit wetness) or to the CART/SLD model using wind speed estimates for a 10-m height. The CART/SLD/Wind model estimated LWD more accurately than the other models during dew-eligible (20:00 to 9:00) as well as dew-ineligible (10:00 to 19:00) periods, and for the period 20:00 to 9:00 regardless of rain events. Improvement of LWD estimation accuracy was ascribed to both the hierarchical structure of decision-making in the CART procedure and wind speed correction. Accuracy of the CART/SLD/Wind model identifying hours as wet or dry varied little among the 15 sites, suggesting that this model may be desirable for estimating LWD from site-specific data throughout the midwestern United States.