The association between health behaviours and academic performance moderated by trait mindfulness amongst university students: an observational study.

Objectives: To target health communication at less health-conscious groups, evidence on health behaviours' effects on non-health-related outcomes - such as academic performance - is necessary. Recent research has highlighted the associations of various health behaviours on academic performance of university students. However, there is a lack of research investigating the most predominant health behaviours simultaneously and their association with academic performance, as well as the factors that potentially influence the direction or strength of these associations. Therefore, this study investigated (I) which of the predominant health behaviours (physical activity, healthy diet, sleep, sedentary behaviour, alcohol consumption, smoking, drug use) are most associated with academic performance and (II) whether the personal resource of trait mindfulness moderates these associations. Methods: An online survey was conducted amongst university students during the 2021 summer semester. Group differences in academic performance regarding health behaviours were analysed using ANOVA (N = 1,049). A first linear regression model (N = 571), considering all selected health behaviours simultaneously, assessed their association with academic performance. A second model (N = 540) assessed interaction effects of health behaviours and trait mindfulness. Separate regressions assessed each interaction's association with academic performance. Results: Sleep, fruit and vegetable consumption, and gender were significantly associated with academic performance. The second model showed no significant interaction effects. Conclusion: Targeting sleep and fruit and vegetable consumption might be the most promising strategies for elevating students' academic performance, thereby enabling health communication strategies to reach groups driven by performance improvements rather than health benefits.

Optimized flow cytometry panel for the detection and analysis of human tumor-induced memory-like NK cells.

Recent studies indicate that under certain conditions such as viral infection or exposure to pro-inflammatory cytokines, NK cells may acquire features of adaptive immune cells. In this context, various forms of adaptive NK cells have been described, i.e. "liver-resident" memory-like NK cells, cytomegalovirus (CMV)-induced memory NK cells and interleukin (IL)12/15/18 cytokine-induced memory-like (CIML)-NK cells. We recently provided evidence that upon a 7-day co-culture with irradiated leukemia specimens NK cells can exhibit a memory-like phenotype with substantial anti-leukemic functionality. Here, we propose an antibody panel that allows the identification of subtle changes in the activation status and maturation during memory cell conversion of these so-called tumor-induced memory-like (TIML)-NK cells but also the comparison of those with other forms of memory NK cells. As tremendous efforts are currently undertaken to evaluate the clinical benefit of adoptive cell transfer of various forms of NK cells, we here delineate the process of our panel design in detail to provide future researchers with the means to optimize the flow cytometric analysis of various forms of memory NK cells within their clinical trial protocols.

Tumor-priming converts NK cells to memory-like NK cells.

Fascinating earlier evidence suggests an intrinsic capacity of human natural killer (NK) cells to acquire adaptive immune features in the context of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection or pro-inflammatory cytokine stimulation. Since the role of memory NK cells in cancer has so far remained elusive and adoptive NK cell transfer in relapsing pediatric acute B cell precursor leukemia (BCP-ALL) patients awaits improvement, we asked the question whether tumor-priming could promote the generation of memory NK cells with enhanced graft-vs.-leukemia (GvL) reactivity. Here, we provide substantial evidence that priming of naive human NK cells with pediatric acute B cell leukemia or acute myeloid leukemia specimens induces a functional conversion to tumor-induced memory-like (TIML)-NK cells displaying a heightened tumor-specific cytotoxicity and enhanced perforin synthesis. Cell cycles analyses reveal that tumor-priming sustainably alters the balance between NK cell activation and apoptosis in favor of survival. In addition, gene expression patterns differ between TIML- and cytokine-induced memory-like (CIML)-NK cells with the magnitude of regulated genes being distinctly higher in TIML-NK cells. As such, the tumor-induced conversion of NK cells triggers the emergence of a so far unacknowledged NK cell differentiation stage that might promote GvL effects in the context of adoptive cell transfer.

An analysis of messages about tobacco in the Military Times magazines.

The Military Times magazines are seen as an independent source of news and information on the military and are widely read by military members. Given the influence of Military Times as a powerful media outlet within the military and marketing to military personnel by the tobacco industry, we examined tobacco messages and advertisements in a one-year sample from each service. No advertisements for cigarettes or other forms of smoked tobacco were found in any issue published in 2005. However, smokeless tobacco products were advertised frequently, with 11 distinct ads occurring in 105 ad placements. During the year targeted in the present study, smokeless tobacco advertising generated approximately US$564,249 in revenue for the publishers of Military Times. A content analysis suggested that the advertisements intended to pair smokeless tobacco use with a pleasant mood and enjoyable events not directly associated with the product itself. In addition, magazine articles about anti-tobacco topics received among the lowest amount of coverage among all pro-health articles. These findings may partially explain the recent significant increase in smokeless tobacco use among military personnel.

The pediatric residency training on tobacco project: four-year resident outcome findings.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of a special program for training pediatric residents to address tobacco. METHODS: In a study conducted at the New Jersey Medical School, sixteen pediatric residency training programs in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area were assigned randomly to either special or standard training conditions. All of the residents were invited to take part in the training. Only second- and third-year residents participated in data collection activities (baseline and follow-up tobacco surveys and objective structured clinical examinations [OSCEs]). Baseline data were collected in the spring of 2001, and follow-up data were collected annually through the spring of 2005. Special training consisted of a hybrid website/CD-ROM training program on tobacco, a seminar series, companion intervention material, and clinic mobilization. Standard training residents participated in the seminar series and utilized standard educational and self-help material. RESULTS: The percent of residents in special training, but not of those in standard training, who provided assistance for modifying environmental tobacco smoke, preventing use, and helping patients and parents stop smoking increased significantly from baseline to year 4 of training, as did the percent who felt prepared to address tobacco. Performance on the OSCEs was consistent with survey outcomes as special training residents revealed mastery of key interviewing and intervention skills. CONCLUSION: The special training program, with Solutions for Smoking as its centerpiece, was found to be effective for training pediatric residents to address tobacco, and it may serve as a model for pediatric residency training programs. Ways of improving the program are discussed.