Daily intra-individual variability of positive but not negative affect impacts moderate to vigorous physical activity

Abstract Introduction The World Health Organization recommends moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) for 150 minutes per week to reduce the risk of primary or secondary cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Adherence to these recommendations is only around 30% in the US. Identifying reliable barriers or facilitators of time spent in MVPA is a critical component to primary and secondary CVD prevention. Negative affect, including feelings such as being sad, nervous, and restless, is known to diminish time spent in MVPA, whereas positive affect, which includes feelings such as being calm, happy, or full of life is associated with MVPA increases. Relatedly, variability in positive but not negative affect is associated with poorer physical health. What is unclear is how intra-individual variability of positive and negative affect may influence MVPA. Research question What is the influence of variations (i.e. intra-individual day-to-day) in positive and negative affect on variations in MVPA? Method. Guided by the individual and self-management theory, a secondary analysis was conducted of data from a nationwide US sample of participants. Using data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Refresh Wave Study Daily Diary Project, we analyzed eight consecutive days of affect and MVPA assessments in a sample of 553 healthy participants (54% women, 86% white, mean age = 48.7 years). Latent trajectory models were computed to determine the influence of daily positive and negative affect on daily MVPA. Results Affect variability, calculated as the standard deviation of daily positive and negative affect, was positively correlated with MVPA variability. An autoregressive cross-lagged latent trajectory model provided the best fit to examine relationships between positive affect, negative affect, and MVPA (χ2=946.54, df=379, p&amp;lt;0.001; CFI=0.95; RMSEA=0.05, SRMR = 0.06). Positive, but not negative affect, intercepts were significantly correlated with MVPA trajectories (r=0.19, p&amp;lt;0.05). Individuals who initially begin the eight day time span with a higher reported positive affect show a modest increase in MVPA over the same time period (r=0.19, p&amp;lt;0.001). By contrast, individuals evidencing increases in positive affect over the time span showed a decreased rate of change in MVPA over that same time (r=−0.32, p&amp;lt;0.001). Conclusion The association of positive affect to MVPA necessitates a complex analysis to more fully understand intra-individual-level interactions. Relatively higher positive affect with fewer fluctuations was associated with greater MVPA. These intriguing preliminary findings must be considered in light of important limitations (e.g., only eight days of data; affect and MVPA do not necessarily follow diurnal patterns). Still, findings support the view that beginning with positive affect may lead to stability in time spent in MVPA. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None </jats:sec

Screening for social anxiety disorder with the self-report version of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale

Item does not contain fulltextObjective: This study examined whether the self-report version of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS-SR) could accurately identify individuals with social anxiety disorder and individuals with the generalized subtype of social anxiety disorder. Furthermore, the study sought to determine the optimal cutoffs for the LSAS-SR for identifying patients with social anxiety disorder and its generalized subtype. Methods: Two hundred and ninety-one patients with clinician-assessed social anxiety disorder (240 with generalized social anxiety disorder) and 53 control participants who were free from current Axis-1 disorders completed the LSAS-SR. Results: Receiver Operating Characteristic analyses revealed that the LSAS-SR performed well in identifying participants with social anxiety disorder and generalized social anxiety disorder. Consistent with Mennin et al.'s [2002: 1 Anxiety Disord 16:661-673] research on the clinician-administered version of the LSAS, cutoffs of 30 and 60 on the LSAS-SR provided the best balance of sensitivity and specificity for classifying participants with social anxiety and generalized social anxiety disorder; respectively. Conclusions: The LSAS-SR may be an accurate and cost-effective way to identify and subtype patients with social anxiety disorder, which could help increase the percentage of people who receive appropriate treatment for this debilitating disorder

Proton 3D tracking and emission time from a short-lived isomer with ACTAR TPC

International audienceAn experiment was conducted at the GANIL/LISE3 facility to produce the 10+ isomer of 54Ni and measure its proton radioactivity decay branches. The proton detection was achieved with the ACTAR TPC device that enabled the separation of the small signal of the emitted proton from the large signal of the implanted ion, while the decay half-life is of the order of 150 ns. From the measured data, the emitted proton track length and the decay time of the ion can be extracted simultaneously. The full proton radioactivity pattern could be established, with two emission branches and their relative branching ratio. Data processing and analysis that allowed to identify and separate the ion and the proton signals in order to reconstruct the particles trajectories and decay time are detailed. The evaluation of the detection efficiency for the proton radioactivity branches based on a full simulation is described