Kansas State University
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Motives for Eating Among Individuals Seeking Treatment for Weight-Related Behaviors: The Role of Distress Tolerance
No full textObjective: Obesity is a prevalent public health concern, with greater attention needed to understand motivational processes that may guide health behaviors associated with obesity-related behaviors, including maladaptive eating. Distress tolerance is a key vulnerability factor in maladaptive eating, including overeating. However, more research is needed to understand motives for eating as well as the role of distress tolerance within this context. Participants: Participants included 161 adults (61.5% female, Mage = 31.4 years, SD = 10.47) who attended a baseline appointment for a larger randomized-controlled trial for an anxiety sensitivity reduction intervention for weight-related behaviors. Methods: The current study examined the role of distress tolerance in relation to emotional, external, and restrained eating motives for eating using three separate two-step hierarchical regression analyses. Results: Results suggested that lower distress tolerance was associated with greater emotional and external motives for eating. Distress tolerance was not significantly related to restrained eating. Conclusions: The present findings suggest the potential clinical utility of distress tolerance in terms of understanding the motivational basis of eating among individuals with obesity
How do scientists promoting genetically modified seeds in Africa build trust? The experience of Ghanaian Farmers
No full textThe use of genetically modified organism (GMO) technology in food systems continues to generate considerable controversy globally. Similar controversies have accompanied the introduction of genetically modified (GM) cowpea, which its developers say has inherent resistance to Maruca vitrata pest attacks, in Ghana. In light of the controversy surrounding the technology and the heavy international donor involvement in the development of the seeds, this qualitative study sought to understand how the scientists who introduced GMOs in Ghana gained the trust of farmers. We found that specific characteristics of the farmers, specific characteristics of the scientists, and the actions that scientists took in their engagement with farmers, were the three key determinants that encouraged trust. The Ghanaian cowpea farmers had inherent characteristics such as risk tolerance and high confidence in intermediaries. These made them predisposed to trusting the scientists. The scientists were effective messengers of the technology, worked with a reputable institution, and showed practically how the technology works. We recommend future GMO dissemination initiatives in Africa be public sector led, in partnership with private sector. We also observe that farmers are less receptive to the linear model of technology transfer and encourage African scientists to use interactive networking approaches if they want to build more trust with farmers on adoption of technologies
Impact of One-Way SMS Health Communication to Increase PrEP Uptake in Non-HIV, STI Testing Patients: A Pre-Post Intervention Study
No full textThere are about 1.1 million people currently living with HIV and 15% are unaware of their HIV status. Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) is a prophylactic treatment with the use of Anti-Retro Viral (ARV) medications to prevent HIV transmission. The current study used secondary de-identified data from clinic visits between August 1, 2022, to Jan 31, 2023, to evaluate the impact of one-way SMS communication to increase PrEP uptake in non-HIV, STI testing patients. Participants (n=13485) were 57.6 % male, age 28.5 ±7.9, and 63.2% heterosexual. Data was obtained from a large urban STI clinic in the Southwestern United States. Primary analyses consisted of generalized linear modeling (GLM) using two models to evaluate both main effects and time interaction. There was a significant increase in post-intervention PrEP uptake (p \u3c.001). Significant predictors of PrEP uptake included male gender and identification as LGBTQ+ (p \u3c.001). Not Hispanic or Latino and age group of 51-74 showed increased PrEP uptake from 12.1% to 18.9 % and 12.4% to 21.3% post intervention. Native American Indian and Alaskan Natives improved 3.3 % to 12.7 %. Only marginal increases in PrEP uptake were observed among Black or African Americans, Asians, and White participants. One-way SMS communication served as a cost-effective intervention model and had a positive impact on PrEP uptake within one large urban county. These findings indicate that even with limited data there can be ways to focus awareness campaigns for communities using low-cost alternatives
A Century of PhD Dress in Aotearoa New Zealand
No full textThis article provides a brief overview of the history of the PhD in Aotearoa and explores its first academic dress, the disbanding of the federal university, and the evolution of independent universities. It then analyses current PhD regalia across the country and concludes with a discussion on the future of academic dress. As the origins of universities and the development of academic dress in Aotearoa—particularly at the doctoral level—have been previously explored in this journal, only a summary is provided here
A Qualitative Exploration of Stakeholder Perceptions and Evaluations of the “More to Meat” Campaign in Australia
No full textThe “More to Meat” campaign in Australia aimed to increase public awareness of the red meat industry in regional communities through transparent communication. To better understand the strategic development and implementation of this campaign, we completed a case study using semi-structured interviews with participants from four stakeholder groups. Participants were sought through purposive and snowball sampling. Data were collected over Zoom, transcribed through Otter.Ai, and analysis conducted using in vivo coding and thematic creation. Research question one yielded four themes: 1) Changing our story, 2) There’s more to processors than meets the eye, 3) Arming the industry for the future, and 4) Empowered by insights. Research question two yielded three themes: 1) Nothing but positivity for the campaign, 2) Putting the industry’s best foot forward, and 3) Room for improvement. Research question three yielded three themes: 1) Perceptions are shifting in the right way, 2) Let’s not drop the ball now, and 3) Representing regional communities. Results indicated the campaign had increased awareness of the red meat industry and participants supported continuing the campaign. Future research should include a content analysis of the campaign content and interviews with additional stakeholder group representatives
Evaluation of Crude Protein and Acid-Binding Capacity on Nursery Pig Growth Performance and Fecal Dry Matter
No full textA total of 360 weanling pigs (DNA 241 × 600; initially 11.5 ± 0.02 lb) were used in a 42-d study to evaluate the effects of crude protein (CP) and acid-binding capacity at a pH of 4 (ABC-4) on nursery pig growth performance and fecal dry matter (DM). Pens of pigs were randomly allotted to one of six dietary treatments in a generalized randomized block design with five pigs per pen and 12 pens per treatment. Pigs were blocked so there were four replications each of light-, medium-, and heavy-weight pens per treatment. Diets were corn-soybean meal-based and arranged in a 2 × 2 + 2 factorial. The first factor, ABC-4, was tested using a low ABC-4 diet formulation concept set at 200 meq/kg and 250 meq/kg in phases 1 and 2, respectively, compared to a traditional formulation concept where the ABC-4 level was not specifically considered. The second factor, CP, was tested at 21% (1.35% SID Lys) and 18% (1.15% SID Lys). Thus, the first four treatment diets consisted of: 1) low ABC-4 at 21% CP, 2) low ABC-4 at 18% CP, 3) traditional ABC-4 formulation strategy at 21% CP, and 4) traditional ABC-4 formulation strategy at 18% CP. Two diets served as controls: 5) treatment 3 with 3,000 ppm and 2,000 ppm of added Zn from zinc oxide (ZnO) in phases 1 and 2, respectively, and 6) treatment 4 with additional feed-grade amino acids (AA) at a SID Lys level of 1.35% while maintaining a CP of 18%. Treatment diets were fed in two phases from d 0 to 7 (phase 1) and d 7 to 21 (phase 2), followed by a common diet from d 21 to 42 (phase 3). On d 7 and 21, fecal samples were collected from the same three randomly selected pigs in each pen to determine fecal DM and fecal scoring. During the experimental period (d 0 to 21), an ABC-4 × CP interaction was observed (P = 0.021), where pigs fed diets formulated to 21% CP had improved feed efficiency (P \u3c 0.001) compared to those fed the 18% CP diets, with the magnitude of improvement being greater when a low ABC-4 diet formulation was utilized. An improvement in ADG, ADFI, and feed efficiency was observed (P ≤ 0.035) when ZnO was added to the traditionally formulated diet at 21% CP. Feed efficiency also improved (P \u3c 0.001) when additional feed-grade AA were added to the traditional 18% CP diet. Overall (d 0 to 42), no ABC-4 × CP interactions were observed. However, pigs previously fed the low ABC-4 diets in phases 1 and 2 had improved (P = 0.009) feed efficiency compared to those fed the traditionally formulated diets. In addition, pigs previously fed 21% CP in phases 1 and 2 had improved (P ≤ 0.004) ADG and feed efficiency compared to pigs fed 18% CP. Similar improvements (P ≤ 0.039) in ADG and feed efficiency were observed when ZnO was added to the traditional 21% CP diet in phases 1 and 2 compared to the same diet without ZnO. Feed efficiency also improved (P = 0.020) in pigs fed the diet with additional feed-grade AA in phases 1 and 2 compared to those fed the traditional 18% CP diet without additional feed-grade AA. For fecal DM, there was an ABC-4 formulation strategy × CP × day interaction (P = 0.043); however, when evaluating ABC-4 × CP interactions on d 7 and d 21, there were no significant interactions within individual days (P ≥ 0.110). Pigs fed low ABC-4 diets had higher fecal DM (P ≤ 0.005) on d 7 and 21 compared to those on traditional diets. On d 7, the 21% CP + ZnO and 18% CP + AA treatments both had higher (P ≤ 0.027) fecal DM compared to their respective treatments of comparison, but these differences were not seen on d 21. On d 21, diets formulated to 18% CP tended to increase (P = 0.052) fecal DM compared to pigs fed 21% CP. In summary, formulating diets using a low ABC-4 concept can improve both growth performance and fecal DM of nursery pigs, and reducing CP to 18% reduced the growth performance compared to 21% CP. Interestingly, formulating to 18% CP with additional AA maintained growth performance at a higher level than expected and warrants further investigation
Effect of a Novel Dietary Antioxidant on Growth Performance and Antioxidant Status of Nursery Pigs
No full textTo evaluate the effect of dietary S-ascisic acid (S-ABA) supplementation on the growth performance and antioxidant status of pigs, 320 nursery pigs (DNA 241 × 600; initially 12.0 ± 1.13 lb) were weaned at approximately 18 d of age and assigned to pens in a generalized randomized block design with gender and weight category as blocking factors. Pigs were fed a common phase 1 diet from weaning to d 7. On d 8 post-weaning, pen of pigs (14.2 ± 1.25 lb) within gender × weight blocks were randomly allotted to one of four dietary treatments. Treatments included a conventional nursery diet (Control) and three diets that used the Control formulation with increasing S-ABA (0.5, 1.0 and 5.0 ppm). Treatments were provided during phases 2 (d 0 to 14) and 3 (d 14 to 35). Growth performance was measured weekly. Additionally, 32 pigs on d 0 and two pigs per pen on d 14 and 35 were bled to assess the erythrocytes’ total glutathione (GSH+GSSG), reduced glutathione (GSH), oxidized to reduced glutathione ratio (GSSG:GSH), serum total antioxidant capacity (TAC), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). At the termination of the trial, two pigs in each pen were euthanized and duodenal, jejunal and ileal mucosa were collected to measure GSH+GSSG, GSH and GSSG:GSH. No interactive effect on growth performance between S-ABA and gender was observed throughout the study. Additionally, increasing S-ABA did not influence growth performance. There was also no interaction between S-ABA and collection day on antioxidant parameters.
Erythrocyte GSH+GSSG tended to increase with higher S-ABA in the diet (linear, P = 0.056) on d 14, while GSH showed a similar trend at d 14 (linear, P = 0.096) and d 35 (quadratic, P = 0.100). The d 35 GSSG:GSH ratio decreased with increasing S-ABA in the diet (quadratic, P = 0.022). Serum TAC, SOD and TBARS were not influenced by S-ABA in the diet. Similarly, dietary S-ABA had no effect on GSH+GSSG, GSH and GSSG:GSH in the intestinal mucosa. In conclusion, supplementation of S-ABA in the diet improved the antioxidant status of nursery pigs by reducing the erythrocyte GSSG:GSH ratio without negative effects on growth performance
Is Caloric Efficiency an Accurate Method to Estimate Soybean Meal Net Energy in Nursery Pigs?
No full textA total of 4,730 pigs (PIC 337 × L 42) were used in a 20-d study to determine if the caloric efficiency (CE) method is an accurate predictor of soybean meal (SBM) NE in nursery pigs. Pigs were blocked by sow source, entry date, and initial BW (initially 26.5 ± 0.87 lb) and allotted to one of 12 dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design. The twelve treatments were arranged in a 3 × 4 factorial with main effects of SBM NE relative to corn used in diet formulation (80, 100, or 120%) and SBM level (26, 30, 34, or 38%). The same diet was used for each treatment containing 26% SBM, and this served as the base within each SBM NE level. There were 30 to 35 pigs per pen. There were 32 replications of the base treatment and 12 replications of the remaining nine treatments across two rooms. Pens of pigs were weighed, and feed disappearance was measured at the beginning and at the end of the study to determine ADG, ADFI, F/G, and CE. On d 21, following the completion of the growth study, a blood sample was collected from five pigs (two barrows and three gilts) per pen (84 pens; 420 pigs total) to determine serum urea nitrogen. Pigs were fasted for approximately 12 h prior to sample collection. To test SBM level × SBM NE in formulation interactions, the 30, 34, and 38% SBM level treatments were used. No SBM level × SBM NE in formulation interactions were observed. A tendency for a quadratic effect of SBM level was observed (P \u3c 0.10) for ADG, where ADG tended to increase as SBM level increased from 26 to 34% but decreased as SBM level further increased to 38%. A quadratic effect of SBM level was observed (P \u3c 0.05) for ADFI, where ADFI remained constant as SBM levels increased from 26 to 34% but decreased as SBM level increased to 38%. Thus, F/G improved linearly (P \u3c 0.05) as the SBM level increased. To test simple effects of SBM level within SBM NE in formulation, all four SBM level treatments were used. A quadratic effect of SBM level within the 80% SBM NE in formulation was observed (P \u3c 0.05) for ADG and ADFI, where ADG and ADFI increased as SBM level increased from 26 to 34% but decreased as SBM level increased to 38%. A linear effect of SBM level was observed (P \u3c 0.05) for F/G within all three formulation strategies, where F/G improved as SBM level increased within each formulation strategy. Caloric efficiency improved (linear, P \u3c 0.001) with increasing SBM level within each of the formulation strategies. The improvement in F/G appears to be a response to the SBM level rather than SBM NE itself. Thus, the CE method may not be an accurate method of predicting SBM NE in nursery pigs