Does Discrimination Breed Mistrust? Examining the Role of Mediated and Non-Mediated Discrimination Experiences in Medical Mistrust.

Medical mistrust is associated with a decreased likelihood of engaging in various health behaviors, including health utilization and preventive screening. Despite calls for research to address medical mistrust, few studies have explicitly delved into antecedents to medical mistrust. The current study a) examines the relationship between discrimination experiences and medical mistrust and b) experimentally tests the influence of mediated vicarious discrimination on reported levels of medical mistrust. Participants (N = 198) were randomly assigned to view news stories in one of four experimental conditions: no exposure, no discrimination control, implicit racial discrimination, and explicit racial discrimination. Results indicated prior personal and vicarious discrimination experiences were related to medical mistrust. Furthermore, exposure to mediated discrimination influenced medical mistrust in different ways for Black and White participants. Among Black participants, medical mistrust was significantly higher for those exposed to the implicit racial discrimination condition than the control condition. Marginal differences were found for White participants such that those exposed to both explicit and implicit racial discrimination conditions reported higher medical mistrust than those exposed to the control condition. Our findings are discussed in terms of the theoretical and practical implications for health communication scholars seeking to examine and influence health behaviors.

Methods for the Simulation of the Slowing of Low-Energy Electrons in Water.

A computational Monte Carlo simulation approach for modeling the thermalization of low-energy electrons is presented. The simulation methods rely on, and use, experimentally based cross sections for elastic and inelastic collisions. To demonstrate the different simulation options, average numbers of interactions and the range of low-energy electrons with initial energies ranging from 1 to 20 eV are calculated for density normalized gaseous water. Experimental gas-phase cross sections for (subexcitation) electrons of energies in the range of 1-20 eV were taken from the compilation of Hayashi. The ballistic collision-by-collision simulations provide information on the intricacies of the thermalization processes not available experimentally. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Physician Advance Care Planning Experiences and Beliefs by General Specialty Status and Sex.

OBJECTIVES: Advance care planning (ACP) involvement could be substantially different by physician specialty or sex group, with implications for training and methods to increase ACP activities. The objective of this article is to compare primary care physicians (PCPs) and other specialty physicians and female compared with male physicians' views and interactions surrounding ACP. METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of an online anonymous survey distributed through a survey link to healthcare providers in hospital, ambulatory, and hospice settings in the greater Dayton, Ohio area in preparation for a community-wide advance care planning multitiered intervention. The measures included demographic data and questions regarding personal ACP decisions/experiences, opinions surrounding ACP in healthcare settings, and willingness to facilitate ACP with patients. RESULTS: There were 129 physician respondents, of which 39 (30.2%) were PCPs, and 33 (25.6%) were women. Most expressed interest in ACP, responding positively to a desire for more training, and approximately 25% were willing to be trained to teach others. The respondents by specialty group were similar in age and race, the presence or absence of religious affiliation, and stated frequency of ACP conversations. More than half (52.5%) reported having ACP conversations at least twice per month. The female physicians were younger and more likely to be in primary care. Female physicians also were more likely to discuss ACP with patients (P = 0.017), report formal training for ACP (P = 0.025), and be more willing to permit other healthcare provider types to be involved with ACP. PCPs reported time as a barrier more frequently than specialty physicians (P = 0.012). Other barriers to ACP were reported, including space, personal discomfort, and concerns about patient or family distress or disagreement. CONCLUSIONS: Many physicians, regardless of specialty type or sex, are interested in undertaking more ACP conversations and being trained to do so. Overall, more female physicians than male physicians were involved and interested in various aspects of ACP, and they were more accepting of the involvement of nonphysician healthcare professionals in ACP. Multiple barriers for clinicians, patients, and families were identified that will need to be addressed by work settings or through education to increase ACP.

Radical kinetics in sub- and supercritical carbon dioxide: thermodynamic rate tuning.

We report rate constants for muonium addition to 1,1-difluoroethylene (vinylidene fluoride) in CO2 at 290-530 K, 40-360 bar, and 0.05-0.90 g cm(-3). Rate constants are mapped against their thermodynamic conditions, demonstrating the kinetic tuning ability of the solvent. The reaction exhibits critical slowing near conditions of maximum solvent isothermal compressibility, where activation volumes of unprecedentedly large magnitudes on the order of ±10(6) cm(3) mol(-1) are observed. Such values are suggestive of pressure being a significant parameter for tuning fluorolkene reactivity.

Effects of taking selfies on women's self-objectification, mood, self-esteem, and social aggression toward female peers.

This study investigated the effects of taking photos (of the self or objects) on women. Objectification theory states that women are subjected to societal pressure to focus on their physical appearance. The emergence of social media as a communication channel has further reinforced the emphasis on women's appearance, beauty ideals, and body image. On social media, selfies serve as a self-presentation of one's appearance to an online audience. In this 2 × 2 experiment, women (N = 120, Mage = 19.87) took pictures of themselves (i.e., selfies) or objects. They were told beforehand that these pictures would be kept private or that they would be posted online on social media. After taking pictures, we assessed women's self-objectification, mood, and self-esteem. Women then engaged in a photo tagging task in which they selected hashtags for selfies of other women. Selfie takers expressed higher self-objectification, more negative mood, and diminished self-esteem compared to those taking pictures of objects. Selfie takers also demonstrated comparatively less social aggression, using fewer derogatory tags on other women's pictures. Although taking selfies may negatively affect producers, there may be benefits for online social interaction with peers.