Childhood bullying victimization, emotion regulation, rumination, distress tolerance, and depressive symptoms: A cross-national examination among young adults in seven countries.

Existing research suggests a robust association between childhood bullying victimization and depressive symptoms in adulthood, but less is known about potential mediators of this link. Furthermore, there is limited cross-national research evaluating similarities and differences in bullying victimization and its associations with mental health. The current study addressed gaps in the literature by evaluating cognitive and affective responses to stress (i.e., emotion regulation, rumination, and distress tolerance) as potential mediators of the link between recalled bullying victimization and current depressive symptoms among 5909 (70.6% female) college students from seven countries. Results revealed specific indirect associations of bullying victimization through distress tolerance and three out of four facets of rumination, as well as a persistent direct association of childhood bullying on adulthood depression. Emotion regulation strategies were not significantly associated with bullying victimization and did not mediate its association with depressive symptoms. Constrained multigroup models indicated that results were invariant across country and gender. Findings provide evidence of statistical mediation in a cross-sectional sample and await replication in prospective studies. Rumination and distress tolerance may be promising targets for resilience-promoting interventions among children experiencing peer victimization. Ongoing research is needed to clarify cross-national patterns in childhood bullying, identify additional mediators accounting for the remaining direct association, and evaluate emotion regulation as a potential moderator of associations between bullying victimization and adult mental health.

Predictors of food variety and food consumption scores of adolescents living in a rural district in Ghana.

INTRODUCTION: There is a dearth of information about the food variety and consumption scores of adolescents in Ghana. This study assessed predictors of food variety and consumption scores of adolescents living in a rural district in Ghana. METHOD: In this cross-sectional study, a multi-stage sampling method was used to select one hundred and thirty-seven (137) adolescents from the Asante-Akim South Municipality of Ghana. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on sociodemographic, food practices and dietary intakes of study participants. Descriptive, chi-square, T-test, partial correlation and binary logistic regression were used for the data analysis. RESULTS: The mean food variety score was 25.8±6.4 (range 7-42) and food consumption score was 35±5.1 (range 18.6-49.9). Food variety score was significantly (p<0.05) associated with guardian income status. A significant and positive partial correlation existed between food variety score and calcium intake (r = 0.236, p<0.05). About 49% and 51% of adolescents were food insecure and food secure, respectively. Food consumption score had significant association (p<0.05) with gender (X2 = 6.1), residence (X2 = 7.0), frequency of meal (X2 = 6.8) and food variety score (X2 = 5.4). Adolescent male (AOR = 2.3, 95% CI (1.2-4.6), p = 0.017), peri-urban residency (AOR = 2.1, 95%CI (1.0-4.4), p = 0.036), having three or more meals per day (AOR = 4.2, 95% CI (1.3-13.6), p = 0.018), and a high food variety score (AOR = 2.1, 95%CI (1.0-4.2), p = 0.041) significantly predicted food consumption scores. CONCLUSION: Moderate income status was associated with food variety score in our study participants. Linear relationship existed between food variety and calcium intake. Adolescent males, peri-urban residency, frequency of meals and high food variety score were the predictors of food consumption score. Nutrition-specific and nutrition sensitive programmes aimed at promoting adolescent health should involve guardians.

Gelling Characteristics of Emulsions Prepared with Modified Whey Protein by Multiple-Frequency Divergent Ultrasound at Different Ultrasonic Power and Frequency Mode.

The effect of ultrasonic frequency mode (mono, dual and tri-frequency) and ultrasonic power (0-300 W) on structural properties (intrinsic fluorescence and sulfhydryl content) of whey protein was studied. Emulsions prepared with modified whey protein were used to form the heat-set gels, and the properties of whey protein emulsion gels (WPEG) and their digestion were investigated. The textural and rheological properties of WPEG prepared using whey protein pretreated by mono and dual-frequency ultrasound at the power between 180-240 W were enhanced, while those of WPEG prepared with whey protein pretreated by triple-frequency above the power of 180 W were declined. WPEG prepared using whey protein pretreated by dual-frequency ultrasound (DFU) with the power of 240 W had the highest hardness and storage modulus which were 3.07 and 1.41 times higher than the control. The microstructure of WPEG prepared using DFU pretreated whey protein showed homogeneous and denser networks than those of the control according to the results of confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM). The modification in the microstructure and properties of the WPEG prepared using DFU pretreated whey protein delayed the protein disintegration during the first 30 min of gastric digestion when compared with control. Whereas the release rate of free amino group of the WPEG prepared using whey protein modified by ultrasonic pretreatment increased during the intestinal phase when compared with that of control. The results indicated that using dual-frequency ultrasound to modify whey protein is more efficient in improving the properties of WPEG, and ultrasonic power should be considered during the application of ultrasound pretreatment in producing protein gels. The fine network of WPEG prepared with whey protein pretreated by ultrasound resulted in better hardness and storage modulus. Partially unfolding of the protein induced by ultrasound pretreatment might make the whey protein more susceptible to the digestive enzyme. Our results could provide new insights for using ultrasound as the potential processing tool on designing specific protein emulsion gels as the delivery system for nutrients.

Design of embodied interfaces for engaging spatial cognition.

Aspects of spatial cognition, specifically spatial skills, are strongly correlated with interest and success in STEM courses and STEM-related professions. Because growth in STEM-related industries is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, it is important to develop evidence-based and theoretically grounded methods and interventions that can help train relevant spatial skills. In this article, we discuss research showing that aspects of spatial cognition are embodied and how these findings and theoretical developments can be used to influence the design of tangible and embodied interfaces (TEIs). TEIs seek to bring interaction with digital content off the screen and into the physical environment. By incorporating physical movement and tangible feedback in digital systems, TEIs can leverage the relationship between the body and spatial cognition to engage, support, or improve spatial skills. We use this knowledge to define a design space for TEIs that engage spatial cognition and illustrate how TEIs that are designed and evaluated from a spatial cognition perspective can expand the design space in ways that contribute to the fields of cognitive science and human computer interaction.