Acute effects of brisk walking on urges to eat chocolate, affect, and responses to a stressor and chocolate cue. An experimental study.

The study aimed to investigate the effects of an acute exercise bout on urges to eat chocolate, affect, and psychological and physiological responses to stress and a chocolate cue. Following 3 days of chocolate abstinence, 25 regular chocolate eaters, took part, on separate days, in two randomly ordered conditions, in a within-subject design: a 15-min brisk semi-self-paced brisk walk or a passive control. Following each, participants completed two tasks: the Stroop colour-word interference task, and unwrapping and handling a chocolate bar. Chocolate urges [State Food Cravings Questionnaire (FCQ-S); Rodríguez, S., Fernández, M. C., Cepeda-Benito, A., & Vila, J. (2005). Subjective and physiological reactivity to chocolate images in high and low chocolate cravers. Biological Psychology, 70, 9-18], affective activation [Felt Arousal Scale; Svebak, S., & Murgatroyd, S. (1985). Metamotivational dominance: a multimethod validation of reversal theory constructs. Journal of Perception and Social Psychology, 48, 107-116], affective pleasure/valence [Feelings Scale; Hardy, C. J., & Rejeski, W. J. (1989). Not what, but how one feels: the measurement of affect during exercise. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 11, 304-317], and systolic/diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP) were assessed throughout. Exercise reduced chocolate urges and there was a trend towards attenuated urges in response to the chocolate cue. Exercise also attenuated SBP/DBP increases in response to the stressor and chocolate cue. The effects on urges varied across the dimensions of the FCQ-S.

Mechanical properties of non-functionalized multiwall nanotube reinforced polycarbonate at 77 K.

Mechanical properties of non-functionalized, multiwall carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced polycarbonate composites are studied at room temperature and 77 K. Five sample groups are tested, ranging from 0 to 10.0 wt% CNT. The dispersion, interfacial bonding, bundling and CNT content, as well as the testing temperature, play a major role as regards mechanical properties. Mechanical testing shows increase in strength with increasing CNT content as well as an increase in Young's modulus and a decrease in ductility. The distribution of yield strength data for each sample group is analyzed using Weibull distributions. It is evident that interfacial debonding increases at low temperature. Higher CNT concentration samples are affected the most, which is reflected in a decrease in their impact on the mechanical properties at 77 K compared to RT. Scanning electron microscopy of fracture surfaces supports the interpretation of the measurement results.

Should we 'hug a hoodie'? Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions with young people not in employment, education or training (so-called NEETs).

BACKGROUND: Whilst the majority of young people succeed in education and make a positive transition to the world of work and adult life, recent statistics identify that youth comprise 40% of the world's unemployed, equating to nearly 75 million individuals. These numbers are associated with both decreased economic activity and adverse well-being, with accompanying social, health and financial costs. As a result, a wide range of providers have implemented interventions targeting this population; however, their relative effectiveness is unknown. This is exacerbated by a diverse literature base, the delivery of provision and policy across multiple sectors and disparate approaches to programme evaluation. METHODS AND DESIGN: We will undertake a systematic review of interventions targeting youth not in employment, education or training (NEET) populations. Only randomised and non-randomised controlled trials will be included. The objectives of the review will be to: (i) systematically review, synthesise and quality appraise experimental evidence on the effects of interventions with NEET young people, (ii) estimate effects on current NEET status, well-being and other relevant psychological and behavioural outcomes, (iii) investigate potential variation in intervention effects among sub-groups stratified by pre-trial duration of current status, socioeconomic status, gender, sub-classifications of NEET individuals and intervention components (e.g. type, frequency, duration, provider and setting) and (iv) assess the robustness of results in separate sensitivity analyses that exclude studies with higher risk of bias (e.g. in terms of study quality) or follow-up length. A rigorous literature search of English language publications post-1990 will be conducted using the following electronic databases: Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, ERIC, EPPI-Centre (Bibliomap), Social Science Citation Index, British Education Index, Conference Proceedings Index, Dissertation Abstracts, Popline and grey literature collections (e.g. GLADNET). These database searches will be supplemented with hand searching, requests for unpublished literature and website searches. DISCUSSION: A report and executive summary will be developed by the research team with input from consultant stakeholders to aid translation of the findings into practice. The research will be disseminated at national and international conferences and submitted for peer-reviewed publication. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42014007535.