Father's Playbook: From Health Communication Research to Prenatal Health Intervention.

Research has demonstrated benefits of paternal involvement during the prenatal stage: increased prenatal visits, better adherence to postpartum best practices, and improved communication between partners. In the United States, where maternal morbidity remains higher than other advanced economies, the need for varied interventions aimed at improving the wellbeing of the entire family unit should remain a top priority. In an arena that is understandably dominated by interventions aimed at expectant mothers, scholars also advocate for including men in prenatal health care to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality. In practice, however, they are often excluded. Evidence suggests paternal prenatal health interventions can result in better outcomes for the entire family, and researchers developed Father's Playbook - a free bilingual evidence-based app for expectant fathers - in support of that goal. This article examines the creation of and lessons learned from this health communication intervention which represents a case study of implementation science in the field of health communication. This article documents how the project moved from early formative research to app development and now ongoing promotion of a state-funded health communication and public health intervention utilizing a variety of research approaches. Researchers believe this intervention can serve as a blueprint for other public health and health communication practitioners.

Evidence-Based Health Communication in Practice: Driving Funding, Research, and Training Through the University of Texas at Austin Center for Health Communication.

Academic centers play a vital role in advancing knowledge, driving innovation, and fostering collaboration. The University of Texas at Austin Center for Health Communication was established in 2014 with the mission to improve public health through evidence-based communication research and practice. In this article, we reflect on the center history, explain our practice-oriented funding structure, and showcase examples of public health campaigns informed by theory and data, as well as professional-oriented educational programs. We also discuss the academic and community impact of our research, education, and practice and the benefits and challenges associated with this practice-led funding model. Although there are other approaches to operating academic centers, we hope the lessons we have learned can be of help to other centers dedicated to health communication research and practice.

Development and refinement of a communication guide to help young adults in Texas reconnect and reduce loneliness.

Objective: Loneliness among young people is a contemporary public health crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The present research examined the development of a modest yet meaningful health communication intervention resource that would become an asset in a larger health campaign: a communication guide aimed at helping young people reach out and reconnect with others. Methods: Study One established the need for a loneliness intervention in Texas with survey data (N = 795). A communication guide was developed based on research and theory. Study Two employed focus group interviews with potential audience members (N = 31) to critically assess and inform revisions to the communication guide. Results: Study One results indicated that a substantial proportion of young adult Texans felt as though their social connection had decreased and their loneliness had increased since the onset of the pandemic. Themes in focus group responses from Study Two suggested several strengths of the communication guide and some opportunities for revision. Conclusion: A communication guide with tips for reconnecting could be a valuable tool to empower young people and promote social connection. Innovation: This study involved the development and refinement of a new communication resource that was informed by a priority audience of a major health communication campaign.

A Reasoned Action Approach to Social Connection and Mental Health: Racial Group Differences and Similarities in Attitudes, Norms, and Intentions.

This study employed a Reasoned Action Approach to investigate two communication behaviors that were being built into a statewide behavioral health campaign: initiating a conversation about one's own mental health struggles, and starting a conversation to discuss someone else's mental health difficulties. We examined whether the extent of attitudes, perceived norms, and perceived behavioral control regarding intent to perform these behaviors varied by racial identity. Using original survey data from Texans (N = 2,033), we conducted regression analyses for the two communication behaviors and found that intention to seek help was primarily explained by instrumental attitude, injunctive norm, descriptive norm, and perceived capacity; and intention to start a conversation to help someone else was primarily explained by instrumental attitude, injunctive norm, and perceived capacity. Additionally, we identified important common and distinct determinants of the two behaviors across different racial groups. Implications for health communication campaign message development and audience segmentation are discussed.

Integrative analysis of metabolome and transcriptome reveals the different metabolite biosynthesis profiles related to palatability in winter and spring shoot in moso bamboo.

Moso bamboo winter shoot has good taste and rich nutritional value. To reveal the causes and regulatory mechanism of palatability deterioration from winter to spring shoot, a conjoint analysis of metabolome and transcriptome was conducted on winter and spring shoots of moso bamboo. Totally 909 metabolites were characterized for the first time. The significant increase of hydrolyzed tannin content intensified the bitterness of spring shoot, which was positively regulated by key metabolite (gallic acid) and genes (DAHPS, DHQS, DHQ, SDH) in the biosynthesis pathway of hydrolyzed tannin. The accumulation of lignified components enhanced the roughness of spring shoot, which was closely connected with the significant changes of important metabolites (cinnamic acid, ferulic acid, UDP-glucose and UDP-xylose) and up-regulation of most enzyme genes involved in the biosynthesis pathways of lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose. The present study provides theoretical support for understanding palatability transition and directional improvement of edible quality of moso bamboo shoots.

Effects of Exposure to Conflicting Information About Mammography on Cancer Information Overload, Perceived Scientists' Credibility, and Perceived Journalists' Credibility.

Conflicting recommendations about mammography screening have received ample media coverage, emphasizing scientists' debate over the value of breast cancer screening and differences in professional organizations' guidelines about the appropriate starting age and frequency of routine mammograms. Whereas past research suggests that exposure to such media coverage of conflicting recommendations can have undesirable consequences, both on topic-specific (e.g., ambivalence about mammography) and more general outcomes (e.g., backlash toward cancer prevention recommendations), experimental evidence, especially for effects on more general health cognitions, is limited. Using data from a population-based sample of U.S. women aged 35-55 years (N = 1467), the current study experimentally tested whether exposure to news stories that varied in the level of conflict about mammography (no, low, medium, and high conflict) affected three general health cognitions-cancer information overload (CIO), perceived scientists' credibility, and perceived journalists' credibility. We further tested whether these effects varied by research literacy. Results showed that exposure to conflict increased women's perceived CIO and reduced their perceptions of journalists' credibility, and that these effects tapered off at higher levels of conflict. Exposure to conflict also reduced perceptions of scientists' credibility, but only among participants with lower levels of research literacy. Directions for future research and implications for mitigating these potentially adverse effects on public health are discussed.

A novel ABA-insensitive mutant in Arabidopsis reveals molecular network of ABA-induced anthocyanin accumulation and abiotic stress tolerance.

Abscisic acid (ABA) plays primary regulatory roles in abiotic stress tolerance and seed germination. Here, we report a unique novel Arabidopsis abscisic acid-insensitive mutant, abr (abscisic acid resistance), which was able to germinate in medium containing high ABA concentrations and tolerant to abiotic stress tolerance. We observed that abr mutant accumulated more anthocyanins by ABA treatment than did the wild type (WT). Dimethylthiourea (DMTU, an H2O2 scavenger) was effective in inhibiting ABA-induced anthocyanins accumulation. RNA-seq showed that the expression of anthocyanins synthesis, antioxidant enzyme and stress-related genes were specifically increased in ABA-treated abr seedlings, suggesting that the abr mutation affects stress response as well as ABA responses. Interestingly, seedlings accumulating anthocyanins exhibited more tolerance to mannitol and NaCl compared to wild type. We propose that ABA-induced H2O2 generation triggers the foliar anthocyanins accumulation, which, in turn, enhances the abiotic stress tolerance in abr mutant.

Total and Mitochondrial Transcriptomic and Proteomic Insights into Regulation of Bioenergetic Processes for Shoot Fast-Growth Initiation in Moso Bamboo.

As a fast-growing, woody grass plant, Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) can supply edible shoots, building materials, fibrous raw material, raw materials for crafts and furniture and so on within a relatively short time. Rapid growth of Moso bamboo occurs after the young bamboo shoots are covered with a shell and emerge from the ground. However, the molecular reactions of bioenergetic processes essential for fast growth remain undefined. Herein, total and mitochondrial transcriptomes and proteomes were compared between spring and winter shoots. Numerous key genes and proteins responsible for energy metabolism were significantly upregulated in spring shoots, including those involved in starch and sucrose catabolism, glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway, the tricarboxylic acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation. Accordingly, significant decreases in starch and soluble sugar, higher ATP content and higher rates of respiration and glycolysis were identified in spring shoots. Further, the upregulated genes and proteins related to mitochondrial fission significantly increased the number of mitochondria, indirectly promoting intracellular energy metabolism. Moreover, enhanced alternate-oxidase and uncoupled-protein pathways in winter shoots showed that an efficient energy-dissipating system was important for winter shoots to adapt to the low-temperature environment. Heterologous expression of PeAOX1b in Arabidopsis significantly affected seedling growth and enhanced cold-stress tolerance. Overall, this study highlights the power of comparing total and mitochondrial omics and integrating physiochemical data to understand how bamboo initiates fast growth through modulating bioenergetic processes.

Ultrasonics methodology for defect and stress detection of in-serviced T-shaped R-zone components.

The T-shaped R-zone component widely exists in aerospace and satellite communication area, such as supporting structure under the wing skin and the mechanical supporting frame of the satellite large load-bearing high-precision test platform, which seriously affects the performance and the safety of the aircraft and the satellite. In this paper, the overall process of ultrasonics methodology of T-shaped R-zone components is proposed, systematically investigated and experimentally verified. The detection of the defect and the stress is respectively realized based on the synthetic aperture total focusing method and the Mohr's stress circle theory with the aid of the linear phased array probe and the longitudinal wave along the stress propagation direction. The theoretical simulations and the experimental measurements both demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. The dimensional and the positioning errors are respectively around 0.67 mm and 1.69 mm for the 1 mm × 4 mm crack defect existed in the T-shaped R-zone component. The detecting error of the stress is less than 17.91 MPa in the entire inner of the T-shaped R-zone component, which is applied a pressure in the range of 0-400 MPa.

Memory related predictive compensation control of Piezoelectric actuators based on global linearization Koopman theory.

Piezoelectric actuators (PEAs) are widely applied in precision positioning. However, the nonlinear characteristics such as hysteresis and creep limit the ultra-precision applications. This paper proposes a linear model predictive control (MPC) scheme for compensating the nonlinearity of PEA. Firstly, a global linearization predictor is constructed based on Koopman theory to represent the hysteresis behavior of PEA. The high-precision predictor is implemented by a novel memory related neural network (NN), and the prediction error reaches only 0.002 µm. Then the tracking control problem is transformed into a linear MPC optimization problem, thereby avoids the sophisticated nonconvex optimization problem. In practice, the constrained MPC problem is rewritten into a dense form, and solved by quadratic programming technique. Finally, the validity of the proposed scheme is demonstrated by experiments. The short-term steady-state error of the proposed scheme is 0.002 µm, which is far less than that of the inversion method; the long-term steady-state performance also indicates its effectiveness in compensating creep. Further, the excellent frequency-dependent results show that the proposed scheme is superior to the existing control method. Especially, the computational efficiency can be improved by 20%. The proposed predictor and control method are of great significance for the tracking control of PEA.

Compensating nonlinear temperature dependence of ultrasonic motor.

This article aims at realizing the linear parameter-varying (LPV) controller synthesis to compensate temperature dependence for the ultrasonic motor (USM). Initially, based on the improved optimal frequency tracking scheme, the compact LPV model is investigated to approximate the nonlinear temperature dependence. With the aid of the simulation tool, the accuracy of the proposed LPV model is proven. The LPV controller can be an appropriate choice to ensure the stability of passive nonlinear system. In view of the very strictly passivity (VSP) theorem, the VSP LPV controller is constructed as negative feedback. A set of well-designed experimental setup employed the Shinsei USR60 type USM is built afterwards, and the controller implemented by the host is applied to verify the control effect. Compared with the non-model-based controller, the USM with the proposed controller displays better performance, such as more stable output rotational speed. The feasible model in this paper is of great significance to USM. Particularly, the proposed modeling and control methodology are beneficial to the existing optimum frequency tracking technology for the USM.

Predictors of Women's Awareness of the Benefits and Harms of Mammography Screening and Associations with Confusion, Ambivalence, and Information Seeking.

In recent years, there has been a shift toward promoting informed decision making for mammography screening for average-risk women in their 40s. Professional organizations such as the American Cancer Society and U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommend that women weigh the potential benefits and harms of mammography prior to initiating screening. This decision-making process assumes that women are aware of both the benefits and harms of screening, yet little is known about the prevalence and antecedents of such awareness. Moreover, it is conceivable that women who are aware of both the benefits and harms may interpret this information as conflicting - which could be concerning, as researchers have documented adverse effects of exposure to conflicting health information in prior research. Using data from a population-based survey of U.S. women aged 30-59 (N = 557), the current study found that awareness of mammography's harms is relatively low compared to awareness of benefits. Health news exposure and interpersonal communication about health were associated with greater awareness of harms. In addition, women's awareness of both the benefits and harms was positively associated with confusion about breast cancer screening recommendations, ambivalence about getting a mammogram, and mammogram-related information seeking from online sources. Implications for cancer screening communication are discussed.

Modeling of Motion Characteristics and Performance Analysis of an Ultra-Precision Piezoelectric Inchworm Motor.

Ultra-precision piezoelectric inchworm motor (PIM) is widely used as optical equipment, in the microelectronics semiconductor industry, and in precision manufacturing for motion and positioning, but the multi-physics field simulation model for PIM performance estimation and assisting motor design is rarely studied. The simulation model in this paper aimed to provide researchers with direct and convenient PIM performance evaluation to assist the motor design and development. According to the existing advanced inchworm motor products, a multi-physics field coupling model involving solid mechanics and electrostatics using the finite element method (FEM) was established. The motion gesture and performance (driving force and travel) of the PIM were analyzed, respectively. The simulation results showed that the motion gesture of the inchworm motor was well consistent with that of the actual motor product. The driving force from the simulation was close to that of the actual product, and the maximum error was 2.8%. As for the PIM travel, there was a maximum travel error of 0.6 µm between the simulation and official data. The performance parameters of the piezoelectric materials under certain specifications can be simulated by the multi-physics field coupling model. Therefore, the multi-physics field coupling simulation model is suitable for PIM performance evaluation and assisting motor development.

High School Youth and E-cigarettes: The Influence of Modified Risk Statements and Flavors on E-cigarette Packaging.

Objectives: In this paper, we test variations of e-cigarette warning labels on high school youth, alone, and alongside modified risk statements (MRS) and/or flavors, to determine how perceptions of and intentions toward use of e-cigarettes are influenced by these package elements. Methods: An experiment (N = 715 high school youth) varied the warning label participants viewed (FDA warning label/ MarkTen warning label/ abstract warning label) and whether they viewed the label alone or alongside MRS and/or flavors. Results: Drawing upon the Heuristic Systematic Model, we found that youth who view an MRS with any of the warning labels are more likely to engage in counterarguing (compared to the FDA warning label alone), which increases risk perceptions. Additionally, the greater youth perceive the risks associated with e-cigarettes, the lower their intentions of using them, even if they have tried an e-cigarette in the past. Conclusions: Tobacco education and public health messages should encourage youth to evaluate the tobacco industry messages they receive, as counterarguing is associated with higher risk perceptions. Furthermore, fostering increased awareness of the risks associated with e-cigarette use by youth can reduce intentions to use them.

Health Information Seeking versus Avoiding: How Do College Students Respond to Stress-related Information?

Objectives: Given the prevalence of stress among young adults and its impact on overall health, it is important to understand how college students respond to stress and stress management messages and which factors influence subsequent health information engagement. Methods: In the current study, I used an experimental design to test whether the variables of risk percep tion, response efficacy, and source credibility can exert an impact on a convenient sample of undergraduate students at a large Midwestern public university in the health context of stress and stress management. Results: Both risk perception and response efficacy were positively associated with health information seeking and negatively associated with health information avoiding, but only risk perception had a strong and statistically significant influence on information engagement. I found no statistically significant interaction between risk perception and response efficacy or moderating effects of source credibility. Conclusions: This study provides empirical support for the claim that stress-related risk perception can influence young adults' information engagement significantly. Health communication strategists addressing the issue of stress among college students should consider eliciting risk perception.

Palladium-Catalyzed Room Temperature Acylative Cross-Coupling of Activated Amides with Trialkylboranes.

A highly efficient acylative cross-coupling of trialkylboranes with activated amides has been effected at room temperature to give the corresponding alkyl ketones in good to excellent yields by using 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropyl)phenylimidazolylidene and 3-chloropyridine co-supported palladium chloride, the PEPPSI catalyst, in the presence of K2CO3 in methyl tert-butyl ether. The scope and limitations of the protocol were investigated, showing good tolerance of acyl, cyano, and ester functional groups in the amide counterpart while halo group competed via the classical Suzuki coupling. The trialkylboranes generated in situ by hydroboration of olefins with BH3 or 9-BBN performed similarly to those separately prepared, making this protocol more practical.

Six Degrees of Freedom Displacement Measurement System for Wafer Stage Composed of Hall Sensors.

This paper proposes a decoupled six degrees of freedom (DOF) displacement measurement methodology, which is accomplished by utilizing six pairs of permanent magnets and six Hall sensors. Firstly, the coordinate transformation was mathematically derived, which represented the relationships between the main coordinate system of the motion system and each body coordinate system of the Hall sensors. With the aid of an ellipsoid function and the least squares method, only the output voltages of the six Hall sensors were required to decouple the six-DOF displacement and inclination of the motion platform with high accuracy. Finally, the experimental measurements demonstrate the effectiveness of the six DOF displacement measurement methodology, based on which the maximum errors of displacements can reach 0.23 mm and the maximum errors of inclinations can reach 0.07°.

Extended optimum frequency tracking scheme for ultrasonic motor.

This work presents a general optimum frequency tracking scheme for an ultrasonic motor, which no longer requires the amplitudes of the applied voltages to keep identical. The proposed scheme here greatly extends the application of the optimum frequency in comparison to the existing studies. The mechanical quality factor of an ultrasonic motor is initially derived to describe the loss, which further is also in proportion to the temperature rise. The optimum frequency from the loss reduction viewpoint is then obtained, at which frequency the ultrasonic motor maintains the minimum loss and subsequently the minimum temperature rise. The optimum-frequency tracking scheme is subsequently constructed. Experiments are carried out to verify the existence of the optimum frequency and the reduction of the temperature-rise under the applied voltages in the general form, whose amplitudes and phase difference are all adjustable. The results have inferred that the optimum frequency still exists even though the applied voltages are in the general form, at which frequency the temperature-rise is obviously reduced in the absence of any external cooling equipment. The optimum frequency of the ultrasonic motor now gets closer to the industrial applications, especially when the applications require the velocity adjustment in a wide range.

Optimal working frequency of ultrasonic motors.

In this work, the existence of the optimal working frequency for ultrasonic motors (USMs) is theoretically and experimentally verified for the first time, at which working point the power dissipation of the motors arrives at its minimum value. The mathematical model of the mechanical quality factor is initially deduced to evaluate the loss level, because it shows an opposite tendency with losses. The derivative of the mechanical quality factor can be subsequently arrived at with the aid of the phenomenon model of the phase of the admittance. The theoretical derivation infers that the maximum value of the mechanical quality factor exists almost around the average value of the frequency of maximum conductance and the frequency of maximum resistance. Then the input power of the USM is measured under the constant velocity condition, which is supposed to counteract the loss; that is, the loss can be therefore evaluated experimentally. Measurements infer that the power dissipation of the motor reaches the minimum value around the calculated optimal working frequency. In other word, it is proven that the USM maintains an optimal working frequency from the loss reduction view point.