Associations of behavior-based measurements and clinical disease in preweaned, group-housed dairy calves.

Producers report bovine respiratory disease and neonatal calf diarrhea as the 2 most common diseases in preweaned calves, both of which can affect calf performance and welfare. Housing calves in groups during the preweaning period has increased in popularity and has the potential to improve calf welfare, but only if producers can detect and treat disease efficiently. A health-screening tool is needed that allows producers to identify suspect animals but minimize the time spent examining healthy animals. The objective of this study was to determine if disease in preweaned, group-housed dairy calves was associated with behavioral measures of illness. This cross-sectional study included the evaluation of preweaned, group-housed calves (n=206) on 4 farms in Wisconsin, United States. Farm visits included the scoring of key behaviors (abnormal posture when lying or standing, isolation from the group, lethargy, and 2 approach tests that tested the willingness of calves to approach a stationary person) that were hypothesized to be components of sickness behavior. Following the behavior scoring, calves underwent an individual health assessment for bovine respiratory disease, neonatal calf diarrhea, and umbilical infections. Each behavior category was scored as normal (0 points) or abnormal (1 point), and then categories were summed to obtain a total behavior score for each calf. Behavior scores ranged from 0 (normal) to 5 (severely abnormal). A total behavior score of 3 or greater was considered positive for disease. The outcome of a positive or negative test on the behavior score were analyzed using PROC LOGISTIC (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC) and the model controlled for calf age and farm. Bovine respiratory disease was significantly associated with a behavior score of 3 or greater. The use of a behavior score shows promise as a screening tool for disease in preweaned calves.

Associations between health status and the probability of approaching a novel object or stationary human in preweaned group-housed dairy calves.

Neonatal calf diarrhea (NCD) and bovine respiratory disease (BRD) are the 2 most prevalent diseases affecting the welfare and productivity of preweaned dairy calves in the United States. Early detection of these diseases improves both the probability of recovery and animal welfare. Group housing of preweaned calves is increasing in popularity and disease detection in a socially competitive environment can be challenging. One method of detecting disease is through the observation of key behaviors that occur during illness. Novel object and stationary human approach tests can be used to measure exploratory behavior, which is decreased during the expression of sickness behavior. The objectives of this study were (1) to determine associations between 4 categories of health status and the probability of calves approaching a novel object or stationary human, and (2) to determine the associations between rectal temperature and the probability of calves approaching. Holstein heifer calves (n = 75) in group housing were tested weekly for the first 6 wk of life for their willingness to approach a novel object (OBJ) or stationary human (SH). After the approach tests, calves were evaluated by research staff using a standardized health-scoring system. Treatment records were obtained from the farm to determine detection of BRD, NCD, and umbilical infections. Associations between probability of approach and BRD status were analyzed using a linear mixed model with a logit-transform (PROC GLIMMIX), controlling for calf as a random effect. All models controlled for week, pen, pen order, and test order. Calves with clinical signs of BRD on test day were 0.5 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.3-0.9] and 0.5 (95% CI = 0.3-0.9) times as likely to approach the OBJ and SH compared with healthy calves, respectively. Calves with a fever (rectal temperature ≥ 39.4°C) were 0.4 (95% CI = 0.2-0.8) and 0.4 (95% CI = 0.1-0.7) times as likely to approach the OBJ and SH compared with calves without fever, respectively. Calves that were recovering from NCD on test day, but were not showing clinical signs of NCD, were 0.4 (95% CI = 0.2-0.9) times as likely to approach SH, compared with healthy calves. These results suggest that approach tests may be useful for the identification of calves with clinical signs of BRD and calves with a fever in group housing.

The effect of respiratory disease and a preventative antibiotic treatment on growth, survival, age at first calving, and milk production of dairy heifers.

Bovine respiratory disease complex (BRD) is a common disease in weaned dairy calves that incurs economic and welfare costs. This study was an extension of a randomized clinical trial in which a single injection of tulathromycin (TUL) or oxytetracycline (TET) was administered at first movement to group housing for the prevention of BRD in the 60 d following antimicrobial treatment (BRD60). Calves treated with TUL were 0.5 times [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.4 to 0.7] as likely to be treated for BRD60 as calves treated with TET. The objectives of the current study were to evaluate the long-term effects of BRD and antibiotic treatment on growth of heifers until breeding age, age at first calving, incidence of dystocia, milk production, and mortality before first calving and mortality before 120 d in milk. At entry to the breeding barn (382 d of age), calves that experienced BRD60 weighed 16.0±2.3 kg less than calves that did not. Survival to first calving was recorded for 98% (1,343/1,392) of the heifers on this trial. For TET and TUL heifers with BRD60, 63% (94/150) and 73% (64/88) survived to first lactation, respectively. For TET and TUL calves without BRD60, 84% (436/517) and 84% (494/588) survived to first lactation, respectively. The median age at first calving for heifers with and without BRD60 was 714 (95% CI: 705-723) and 702 (95% CI: 699-705) days, respectively. Heifers with BRD60 were 1.5 (95% CI: 1.1-2.2) times more likely to have a calving ease score ≥2 at their first calving compared with heifers without BRD60. The administration of TUL at movement to group housing may have a role in the prevention of BRD and in mitigating some of the long-term effects of this disease.

Dipolar order in an amphidynamic crystalline metal-organic framework through reorienting linkers.

Amphidynamic crystals, which possess crystallinity and support dynamic behaviours, are very well suited to the exploration of emergent phenomena that result from the coupling on the dynamic moieties. Here, dipolar rotors have been embedded in a crystalline metal-organic framework. The material consists of Zn(II) nodes and two types of ditopic bicyclo[2.2.2]octane-based linkers-one that coordinates to the Zn clusters through two 1,4-aza moieties, and a difluoro-functionalized derivative (the dipolar rotor) that coordinates through linked 1,4-dicarboxylate groups instead. Upon cooling, these linkers collectively order as a result of correlated dipole-dipole interactions. Variable-temperature, frequency-dependent dielectric measurements revealed a transition temperature Tc = 100 K, when a rapidly rotating, dipole-disordered, paraelectric phase transformed into an ordered, antiferroelectric one in which the dipole moments of the rotating linkers largely cancelled each other. Monte Carlo simulations on a two-dimensional rotary lattice showed a ground state with an Ising symmetry and the effects of dipole-lattice and dipole-dipole interactions.

The effect of treatment with long-acting antibiotic at postweaning movement on respiratory disease and on growth in commercial dairy calves.

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is a major concern when raising replacement heifers because of the high incidence and long-term effects of this disease, such as decreased growth and increased time to first calving. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of tulathromycin (TUL) treatment at postweaning movement on the incidence of BRD in dairy replacement heifers. A total of 1,395 heifers were enrolled between November 2006 and June 2007 at a commercial heifer-raising facility. Calves were randomly assigned either to treatment with TUL or to a positive control group treated with oxytetracycline (TET). Calves treated with TUL were 0.5 times (95% CI: 0.4 to 0.7) less likely to be treated for BRD in the 60 d following enrollment than calves treated with TET. For calves that had no history of BRD in the pre-enrollment period, TET calves weighed 4.9+/-0.5kg less than TUL calves after 6 wk in group housing. If calves were treated for BRD in the pre-enrollment period, there was no treatment effect on growth. Calves with clinical BRD in the 60 d following movement weighed 7.9+/-0.6kg less than calves without BRD after 6 wk in group housing. Treatment with TUL at the time of movement to group housing had a beneficial effect on the health and performance through the prevention of BRD in dairy calves with no prior history of the disease. Moreover, BRD after movement to group housing after weaning had a significant effect on the growth of dairy calves.

Coping with a breast cancer diagnosis: a prospective study.

Employing the stress and coping theory of Lazarus and Folkman, this study followed 117 women age 40 or over regarding personality, cognitive appraisal, coping, and mood variables before breast biopsy, after diagnosis, and, for those who had cancer, after surgery. Upon biopsy, 36 received a cancer diagnosis, and 81 received a benign diagnosis. The 2 groups did not differ on appraisals, coping, or affect before diagnosis. With prebiopsy affect controlled, cancer patients reported more negative affect postbiopsy than did benign patients. Postsurgery, cancer patients expressed less vigor and more fatigue than benign patients, but the groups did not differ on other negative emotions. Prebiopsy, psychosocial predictors accounted for 54% and 29% of the variance in negative and positive emotion, respectively. Prebiopsy variables also predicted postbiopsy and postsurgery mood; cognitive avoidance coping was a particularly important predictor of high distress and low vigor.

Physician-assisted dying: review of issues and roles for health psychologists.

The authors review the recent empirical and theoretical literature on physician-assisted dying (PAD) since implementation of the Oregon Death With Dignity Act (ODDA) in 1997. The authors provide a brief overview of end-of-life practices; consider ethical and practical issues regarding PAD; outline governments' acts and health care organizations' current codified principles regarding PAD, including the American Psychological Association's goal to increase the visibility of psychology in end-of-life issues; examine recent data pertinent to ODDA implementation and psychologists' attitudes regarding PAD; and outline potential roles for health psychologists responding to requests for PAD and implementing PAD (where it is legal). Health psychologists can assume at least 4 roles regarding PAD: (a) policy advocates, (b) educators, (c) practitioners, and (d) researchers.

Expectancy-value constructs and expectancy violation as predictors of exercise adherence in previously sedentary women.

This prospective study examined effects of expectancy of exercise benefits, value of benefits, expectancy violation, and self-efficacy (SE) on exercise behavior and study dropout in sedentary women (n=86). SE predicted exercise for study completers but did not predict study dropout. After 6 and 12 weeks, participants evidenced expectancy violations, particularly for fitness and weight. Initial value, expectancy, and Expectancy X Value did not predict exercise for study completers, but dropouts had higher initial positive expectancies than did completers. Expectancy violations produced in Weeks 1-6 did not predict exercise in Weeks 7-12 in study completers, but dropouts in Weeks 7-12 had higher expectancy violations for weight in Weeks 1-6 than did completers. Follow-up revealed that study dropouts stopped exercising. Identifying individuals with high initial expectancies and expectancy violations may improve health behavior intervention and research.

Stress and reproduction: introduction to the special section.

This special section on stress and reproduction is devoted to an emerging frontier in interdisciplinary research that merits the attention of health psychologists. The majority of the studies concern the role of stress and emotion on birth outcomes such as low birth weight, fetal growth and preterm delivery, or mechanisms underlying these findings. The implications of this research extend from maternal and infant health to life-span development and adult health and mortality.

Treatment decision making and adjustment to breast cancer: a longitudinal study.

This study monitored women (N = 76) with breast cancer from diagnosis through 1 year, and tested constructs from subjective expected utility theory with regard to their ability to predict patients' choice of surgical treatment as well as psychological distress and well-being over time. Women's positive expectancies for the consequences of treatment generally were maintained in favorable perceptions of outcome in several realms (i.e., physician agreement, likelihood of cancer cure or recurrence, self-evaluation, likelihood of additional treatment, partner support for option, attractiveness to partner). Assessed before the surgical decision-making appointment, women's expectancies for consequences of the treatment options, along with age, correctly classified 94% of the sample with regard to election of mastectomy versus breast-conserving procedures. Calculated from the point of decision making to 3 months later, expectancy disconfirmations and value discrepancies concerning particular treatment consequences predicted psychological adjustment 3 months and 1 year after diagnosis.

Emotionally expressive coping predicts psychological and physical adjustment to breast cancer.

This study tested the hypothesis that coping through emotional approach, which involves actively processing and expressing emotions, enhances adjustment and health status for breast cancer patients. Patients (n = 92) completed measures within 20 weeks following medical treatment and 3 months later. Women who, at study entry, coped through expressing emotions surrounding cancer had fewer medical appointments for cancer-related morbidities, enhanced physical health and vigor, and decreased distress during the next 3 months compared with those low in emotional expression, with age, other coping strategy scores, and initial levels on dependent variables (except medical visits) controlled statistically. Expressive coping also was related to improved quality of life for those who perceived their social contexts as highly receptive. Coping through emotional processing was related to one index of greater distress over time. Analyses including dispositional hope suggested that expressive coping may serve as a successful vehicle for goal pursuit.

Coping through emotional approach: problems of conceptualization and confounding.

Two studies supported hypotheses that (a) published scales tapping coping through processing and expressing emotion are confounded with psychopathology; (b) previously demonstrated relations between emotional approach coping (EAC) and maladjustment are partially spurious; and (c) EAC, when tapped by items uncontaminated by distress, is beneficial under specific conditions. In Study 1, 194 psychologists rated a majority of published items, but no author-constructed EAC item, as indicative of pathology. Study 2 assessed relations of confounded and unconfounded EAC scales to 171 young adults' adjustment during stressful events. Confounded items evidenced weaker discriminant validity with distress measures than did unconfounded items, and they were weaker predictors of later maladjustment when initial adjustment was controlled than when it was not. Unconfounded EAC predicted improved adjustment for women and poorer adjustment for men over time.

Coping through emotional approach: scale construction and validation.

Four studies demonstrate the psychometric adequacy and validity of scales designed to assess coping through emotional approach. In separate undergraduate samples, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of dispositional (Study 1) and situational (Study 3) coping item sets yielded 2 distinct emotional approach coping factors: emotional processing (i.e., active attempts to acknowledge and understand emotions) and emotional expression. The 2 scales yielded high internal consistency and test-retest reliability, as well as convergent and discriminant validity. A study (Study 2) of young adults and their parents established the scales' interjudge reliabilities. Longitudinal (Study 3) and experimental (Study 4) research supported the predictive validity of the emotional approach coping scales with regard to adjustment to stressful encounters. Findings highlight the utility of functionalist theories of emotion as applied to coping theory.

Assessment of the validity of the Reasons for Smoking scale.

To assess the convergent validity of the Reasons for Smoking scale (RFS) 30 male and 24 female smokers completed the RFS and then self-monitored their smoking motives over seven days. Significant validity coefficients, ranging from .39 to .51, were obtained for the stimulation, pleasure, habit, and psychological addiction motive scales. The stimulation, habit, and psychological addiction scales also demonstrated sound discriminant validity. Validity coefficients for the sensorimotor manipulation and negative affect reduction motive scales were nonsignificant. These results contrast sharply with the less positive findings of previous research. Sample and methodological differences between the studies may explain the dissimilarity in results.

Influence of personality attributes and daily moods on bulimic eating patterns.

Relationships among personality attributes, mood states, and eating patterns were examined in a nonclinical sample of females with bulimic symptomatology and binge eaters. Thirteen subjects in each group completed trait measures of depression, anxiety, hostility, and locus of control. Subsequently, they self-monitored affect and eating patterns over a 20-day period. Greater state depression, anxiety, and hostility all were associated significantly with subsequent daily binge eating, and with purging for bulimic subjects. The association of binge occurrence with state anxiety and hostility was significantly greater for bulimics than for binge eaters. Locus of control and trait hostility were important in influencing reactivity of binge eating to daily moods. As trait hostility and externality increased, reactivity of binges to negative mood states also increased.

Development and validation of the situational appetite measures.

Based on a system to categorize high-risk situations for relapse in addictive disorders, instruments were developed to assess cue strength and self-efficacy relevant to weight loss attempts. Two versions of the Situational Appetite Measure (SAM) were developed, one to assess urges to overeat in selected situations and the other to assess self-efficacy in controlling urges to overeat. In a sample of college student dieters and enrollees in commercial diet centers, the measures were found to be highly correlated, such that as consummatory urges increased, self-efficacy to control overeating decreased. High-risk situations were represented by five relatively distinct and reliable subscales: relaxation, food present, hunger, reward, and negative feelings. Low cue strength and high self-efficacy for controlling overeating in situations involving negative feelings predicted weight reduction among female dieters in treatment. The multidimensional nature of the SAM allows for differential prediction of eating behavior across situations.

Fostering ethical willingness: integrating emotional and contextual awareness with rational analysis.

Ethical dilemmas are inherently challenging. By definition, clinicians decide between conflicting principles of welfare and naturally confront competing pulls and inclinations. This investigation of students' responses to an ethical scenario highlights how emotions and concerns can interfere with willingness to implement ethical knowledge. Clear-cut rules are the exception in psychotherapy, and clinicians must judge ethical issues on the basis of the unique context of each case. As such, subjectivity and emotional involvement are essential tools for determining ethical action, but they must be integrated with rational analysis. Strategies for attending to influential emotions and contextual factors in order to mobilize ethical commitment are described.

Determinants of adherence to medical regimens by hypertensive patients.

This study employed multivariate analyses and structural modeling procedures to examine a model for the determinants of adherence to medical regimens. Fifty adult hypertensive patients at a health maintenance organization completed questionnaires and participated in home interviews over a 10-week period. Knowledge of medical regimens, information communication between the patient and the medical professionals, satisfaction with health-care providers, health locus of control, social support, and treatment disruption to life-style were assessed. Adherence was assessed through self-report and behavioral (i.e., pill-count ratio, percentage of kept medical appointments) indices. Finally, repeated blood-pressure measurements were obtained. Structural modeling procedures revealed that greater expectancy for internal control over health and hypertension, greater knowledge of the treatment regimen, and stronger social support were significant determinants of adherence; in turn, higher levels of adherence facilitated blood-pressure reduction.

Evaluation of relapse prevention and reinforcement interventions to promote exercise adherence in sedentary females.

An experimental design was employed to assess the effectiveness of a relapse prevention program, a reinforcement program, and an exercise-only control group in increasing exercise program adherence and short-term maintenance in 120 previously sedentary female university employees. The subjects participated in an 18-week exercise program composed of stretching, calisthenics, and aerobic dance. Attendance during the first half of the program was significantly higher for subjects in the relapse prevention group than for those in the control group. A nonsignificant trend in this direction emerged during the second half of the program and at 2-month follow-up. For all treatment groups, attrition (attendance at less than two thirds of the exercise sessions) was substantial, averaging 72% at the end of the 18-week program. These findings indicate that relapse prevention and reinforcement programs may not assist previously sedentary females in long-term adherence to an exercise program.

Preparation of children for emergency medical care: a primary prevention approach.

Increased emergency room use and the resulting rise in pediatric visits have prompted interest in psychological aspects of pediatric emergency care. This study evaluated the efficacy of a multicomponent hospital program designed to prepare children for emergency room visits. In Phase 1, 148 kindergarteners completed measures of medical fears and knowledge at pretreatment, posttreatment, and a 4-week follow-up. Program attenders had significantly fewer medical fears and higher medical knowledge at posttest and follow-up than control children. The program was more effective for black than white children. In Phase 2, 51 high-fear children from Phase 1 were selected randomly to attend a medical examination in an emergency room. No effects for program emerged on the observational distress measures or physiological arousal. Phase 2 children showed significantly increased medical knowledge at follow-up compared to children who did not receive the medical exam.