Acute Effects of 30 Minutes Resistance and Aerobic Exercise on Cognition in a High School Sample.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine differences in cognition between acute bouts of resistance exercise, aerobic exercise, and a nonexercise control in an untrained youth sample. METHOD: Ninety-four participants performed 30 min of aerobic exercise, resistance exercise, or nonexercise separated by 7 days each in a randomized crossover design. After each exercise intervention, participants were assessed using 2 cognitive tests. The Dot, Word, and Color elements of the Stroop Test (Victoria version) and Parts A and B of the Trail-Making Test were used to measure cognition. RESULTS: Acute resistance and aerobic exercise resulted in similar improvements over nonexercise in all forms of the Stroop Test. Acute aerobic exercise led to improved performance over nonexercise and resistance exercise in Part B of the Trail-Making Test. Neither exercise intervention showed significant changes in time to complete Part A of the Trail-Making Test. Boys outperformed girls on the Stroop Dot and Color Test following acute aerobic exercise, in the Stroop Dot, Word, and Color Test following acute resistance exercise, and in the Stroop Color Test and Trail-Making Test Part B following nonexercise. CONCLUSIONS: Both acute resistance and aerobic exercise increased measures of cognition over a nonexercise control in untrained high school youth. These findings suggest the merits of acute resistance exercise as an alternative or complement to aerobic activity for educators aiming to increase youth physical activity and cognitive function concurrently.

The effect of follow-up inspections on critical violations identified during restaurant inspections.

Follow-up inspections are recommended by the Food and Drug Administration as a tool to verify corrections to violations cited during restaurant inspections. The effectiveness of follow-up inspections as a tool in reducing critical violations is unknown, however. The purpose of the authors' study was to assess whether a serious violation that leads to a follow-up inspection reduces the probability of specific critical violations occurring during the next routine inspection. Outcome measures included poor personal hygiene, improper holding temperatures, substandard equipment cleanliness, potential cross contamination, and improper sanitizer concentration. The risk of having a violation increased for all targeted critical violations during inspections conducted after a follow-up inspection compared to restaurant inspections without a prior follow-up, when adjusting for restaurant type, inspector experience, and season.

Examination of the association between announced inspections and inspection scores.

In 2010 the Salt Lake Valley Health Department conducted a pilot of an announced inspection program utilizing a randomized assignment of restaurants to an intervention group with announced inspections and a control group that remained on the usual schedule of unannounced inspections. After adjusting for food type, visible kitchen, outside quality assurance, season, and standardized inspector, significant reductions were found in the odds ratios of personal hygiene (adjusted odds ratios [aOR] = 0.11, p = .00) and equipment cleanliness (aOR = 0.19, p = .00) violations. In the models for the control group, none of the odds ratios were statistically different from one, indicating no change in the postintervention time period as compared to the preintervention period.

Impact of internet posting of restaurant inspection scores on critical violations.

Posting restaurant inspection scores on the Internet as a tool for improving food safety is becoming more common. The purpose of the study described in this article was to evaluate the association between Internet posting of restaurant inspection scores and the five most frequently cited critical violations in Salt Lake County, Utah. The study examined 2,995 inspections conducted at 796 full service and fast food restaurants for a one-year period before and after launch of a restaurant inspection Web site. Critical violations decreased significantly after the Web site launch compared to before-launch levels. The greatest improvements were found in temperature holding violations (odds ratio = 0.75, p < .001), hygiene practices violations (odds ratio = 0.68, p < .001) and equipment cleanliness violations (odds ratio = 0.58, p < .001). Restaurant type (full service, fast food), inspector experience, and season were significantly associated with the decrease in violations.

Suicide notes among Native Americans, Hispanics, and Anglos.

Suicide is a significant health problem, yet many questions regarding suicide remain unanswered. One of the most frequently asked questions is related to motive: "Why did that person complete suicide?" We explored motivations for completing suicide, especially with regard to cultural differences, by analyzing suicide notes written by Native Americans, Hispanics, and Anglos in New Mexico. Five categories emerged describing motivation: feelings of (a) alienation, (b) failure or inadequacy, (c) being psychologically overwhelmed; (d) the desire to leave problems behind, and (e) reunification in an afterlife. The largest difference to emerge between ethnic groups was in the alienation category, which included more Hispanics and Native Americans than Anglos. The overall lack of differences in motivation among the ethnic groups suggests that commonalities in suicidal behavior outweigh the differences. Practical implications for research and practice are discussed, along with strengths and limitations of the study.

Explaining long-term exercise adherence in women who complete a structured exercise program.

The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine factors related to physical activity adherence to understand why women continue to participate in long-term exercise after completing a structured exercise program. Data were collected from focus groups, interviews, and e-mails, and analysis used grounded theory. The central category related to physical activity adherence was self-worth. Motivation, activity enjoyment, priorities, body image, ability to access support, and self-regulation skills had an impact on the self-worth of nonadherers and adherers. Women must value themselves enough to continue to participate in physical activity once they start. Exercise and fitness professionals are encouraged to use strategies to increase self-worth and long-term adherence to physical activity. Some recommended strategies include (a) increasing motivation and enjoyment relative to activity, (b) making activity a high priority in a woman's life, (c) improving or deemphasizing body image, (d) increasing a woman's ability to access support, and (e) facilitating the use of self-regulation strategies. This study is the first to examine qualitative perspectives of exercise adherence among women who completed a structured exercise program. Several concepts related to adherence presented in the quantitative literature are confirmed and enhanced in this study.

Fostering coping skills and resilience in Home Enteral Nutrition (HEN) consumers.

BACKGROUND: Home enteral nutrition (HEN) is a lifesaving therapy that provides benefits along with countless challenges. This qualitative study examined how HEN consumers learned to cope successfully with HEN-related challenges and uncovered how healthcare providers could help foster the process of coping in other HEN consumers. METHODS: Twelve adult HEN consumers who perceived that they were coping successfully and overcoming the adversity associated with HEN, and met the criteria for resilience using the Resilience Scale, self-selected for the study. Participants engaged in a series of 2 in-depth interviews. Data were coded and analyzed using grounded theory methodology. RESULTS: One overarching theme and 5 main categories emerged from the data, revealing that these individuals coped successfully with HEN by developing an attitude of personal responsibility to accept new life conditions, take charge of their own well-being, seek and accept support, maximize independence and normality, and focus on the positive. In addition, these participants used a variety of problem- and emotion-focused coping strategies and shared resilient characteristics such as self-efficacy and perseverance. CONCLUSIONS: Implications for clinical practice and HEN education, along with suggestions for healthcare providers to foster coping with HEN are provided. An educational manual with self-help suggestions for adult HEN consumers is also available at http://www.copingwell.com.

Assessing the risk factors for suicidal thoughts at a nontraditional commuter school.

The sample of students completing the National College Health Assessment (NCHA) Survey at the University of Utah differs from the national reference group for the NCHA 2003 in age, employment, residence, and marital status. The purpose of this study is to determine if the defining characteristics of a commuter school increase the risk for suicidal thoughts. During the fall semester of 2004, the University of Utah implemented a randomized electronic survey assessing the student body's health status in several areas. The authors compared 88 respondents who endorsed seriously considered suicide in the previous 12 months were with the remaining 954 respondents to identify discriminating variables. Those students who seriously considered suicide more likely lived off campus, indicated they were emotionally abused, were in only fair health, experienced being assaulted, experienced unwanted sexual touching, or were not heterosexual. Students who were employed were significantly less likely to consider suicide.