Changes In Human Behavior Research Articles

A review of the research on the cardiovascular risk factors and treatment options for Type II diabetic patients

The rise in the prevalence of diabetes is attributed to changes in human behavior, environment, and lifestyle. The prolonged survival of diabetes patients has been made possible by better care, but this is accompanied by chronic long-term problems brought on by hyperglycemia. Diabetes-related conditions like ketoacidosis or hypoglycemia are fewer common causes of death for diabetics than cardiovascular disease (CVD). Cardiovascular disease is more common in diabetes patients by a factor of 2 to 6 compared to the general population. Additionally, diabetics with CVD have a worse prognosis for survival than those with CVD who don't have diabetes, and their quality of life also declines. As a result, diabetes has been compared to a non-diabetic patient who has a history of heart disease in terms of risk. Identifying patients with a high risk of developing CVD can help prevent or delay cardiovascular events. Chemists must closely monitor these issues to manage CVD prevention and related ones. Patients taking aspirin and clopidogrel for an extended period should be constantly monitored due to the possibility of resistance. Guidelines have been developed to monitor and manage aspirin and clopidogrel in CVD preventive therapy.

Use of human behaviour change models to investigate horse owner intention to adopt emergency colic recommendations.

Behavioural models are widely used within human medicine to understand beliefs and intention associated with major health interventions. To investigate horse-owner beliefs and practices associated with emergency colic planning. Cross-sectional study. An online survey incorporating the Trans-Theoretical Model of behaviour change and the Theory of Planned Behaviour was developed to assess owner intention to adopt three areas of emergency colic planning: (1) prevention/recognition, (2) involvement of others and (3) personal preparation. Participants were recruited using a snowball sampling strategy; multivariable logistic regression of data was performed. There were 701 horse-owners who completed the survey. Respondents fell into one of two categories: no intention to adopt or already implementing emergency planning recommendations. Most agreed that emergency colic plans would improve their horse's welfare (68%) and aid in decision making (78%). Most disagreed that colic was inevitable (66%) and that treatment options were not within their control (69%). Multivariable analysis showed that those who believed emergency plans were worth creating were more likely to adopt preventive (OR: 2.33, 95% CI: 1.27-4.30, p = 0.007) and personal preparation (OR: 1.61, 95% CI: 1.31-1.97, p < 0.001) recommendations. Preventive recommendations were also associated with 'REACT' campaign awareness (OR 2.36, 95% CI: 1.40-3.97, p = 0.001). Favourable behavioural beliefs, such as the acknowledgement of welfare and decision-making benefits, were linked to the involvement of others in planning (OR: 2.93, 95% CI: 1.78-4.81, p < 0.001). Potential response bias and small sample size. The majority of owners were either unwilling to adopt suggested recommendations or believed that their approach was currently sufficient. Most owners perceived veterinary professionals as most influential on their decision to plan for a colic emergency, highlighting their importance in any educational campaign.

Joint Analysis of the Epidemic Evolution and Human Mobility During the First Wave of COVID-19 in Spain: Retrospective Study.

The initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic placed a tremendous strain on health care systems worldwide. To mitigate the spread of the virus, many countries implemented stringent nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), which significantly altered human behavior both before and after their enactment. Despite these efforts, a precise assessment of the impact and efficacy of these NPIs, as well as the extent of human behavioral changes, remained elusive. In this study, we conducted a retrospective analysis of the initial wave of COVID-19 in Spain to better comprehend the influence of NPIs and their interaction with human behavior. Such investigations are vital for devising future mitigation strategies to combat COVID-19 and enhance epidemic preparedness more broadly. We used a combination of national and regional retrospective analyses of pandemic incidence alongside large-scale mobility data to assess the impact and timing of government-implemented NPIs in combating COVID-19. Additionally, we compared these findings with a model-based inference of hospitalizations and fatalities. This model-based approach enabled us to construct counterfactual scenarios that gauged the consequences of delayed initiation of epidemic response measures. Our analysis demonstrated that the pre-national lockdown epidemic response, encompassing regional measures and heightened individual awareness, significantly contributed to reducing the disease burden in Spain. The mobility data indicated that people adjusted their behavior in response to the regional epidemiological situation before the nationwide lockdown was implemented. Counterfactual scenarios suggested that without this early epidemic response, there would have been an estimated 45,400 (95% CI 37,400-58,000) fatalities and 182,600 (95% CI 150,400-233,800) hospitalizations compared to the reported figures of 27,800 fatalities and 107,600 hospitalizations, respectively. Our findings underscore the significance of self-implemented prevention measures by the population and regional NPIs before the national lockdown in Spain. The study also emphasizes the necessity for prompt and precise data quantification prior to enacting enforced measures. This highlights the critical interplay between NPIs, epidemic progression, and human behavior. This interdependence presents a challenge in predicting the impact of NPIs before they are implemented.

COVID-19: Epidemiological Models

The world has been confronted in recent decades with several infectious disease outbreaks caused by novel pathogens, with the COVID-19 pandemic being the most severe of these. In this article, I review some of the main elements of epidemiological models used to forecast the trajectory of a new epidemic and to guide public health policy responses to a new infectious disease. I argue that economists have a lot to contribute to the discussion of public health policies, particularly in regard to assessing the costs and benefits of alternative policies and in improving the modeling of changes in human behavior in response to new infectious diseases. This survey is intended to serve economists interested in starting research in these areas.

Chapter 12a: TBE-epidemiology by country – an overview

TBE is a flavivirus infection of the central nervous system (CNS), transmitted by ticks and in some instances by ingestion of unpasteurized milk. It is diagnosed in the forested belts of Northern Eurasia ranging from the UK, eastern France, The Netherlands and Norway down to Italy through central and Eastern Europe, Russia, Kazakhstan, and China to Japan. About 10,000 cases of TBE are reported annually, likely a significant underestimate as serological testing is more sporadic than complete and, in some countries, (like Japan) not even available. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have put TBE on their list of notifiable diseases. Their case definition requires clinical symptoms of CNS infection plus virological or serological confirmation of the infection, usually by detection of specific immunoglobulins IgG and IgM. Vaccination against TBE is on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines. the safest and most effective medicines needed in a health system. Surveillance of TBE and the TBEV is incomplete. Reported incidences do not reflect actual risk since this fluctuates annually as a result of changes in exposure, vaccine uptake, intensity of case finding and reporting, climate factors, reservoir animals and ticks – just to mention the most relevant factors. For largely unknown reasons (including human behavior, improved diagnostics, or climate change) TBEV appears to be spreading north, east, west, even south and to higher altitudes to areas that were previously believed to be free of the virus.

Cellular Response of Cancer to Music: Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall, Which is the Most Effective of Them All?

Aim: Cancer is one of the most common health problems in the world. Music is a therapy method that creates positive changes in human behavior. This study aims to examine the effects of Turkish and Western classical music on MCF-7, SKOV-3, PC-3, U87, and COLO741 cancer cell lines. Material and Methods: Group 1: No sound, Group 2: Turkish classical music (ney), Group 3: Western classical music (piano), and Group 4: Western classical music (violin). After listening to the cancer cells for 40 min, the audio files were interrupted for 1h, and then music was played for another 40 min. The effect of music on the proliferation of cancer cells was determined by WST-1 cell viability analysis. Statistical analyzes were performed with the SPSS program. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the groups that were applied music once in only the MCF-7 breast cancer cells and the control group (p&amp;gt;0.05). A statistically significant decrease was detected in cell viability when the control group and the other groups that were applied to music twice were compared (p&amp;lt;0.05). For other cancer cell lines except (please the SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells, it was determined that music application once also caused a statistically significant decrease in cell viability (p&amp;lt;0.05). Conclusion: We determined that classical music effectively reduced and suppressed the number of cancer cells. According to the data, Turkish and Western classical music can be used to support the treatment in of cancer patients.

Dynamic Pricing for the Open Online Ticket System: A Surrogate Modeling Approach

Dynamic pricing is frequently used in online marketplaces, ticket sales, and booking systems. The commercial principles of dynamic pricing systems are often kept secret; however, their application causes complex changes in human behavior. Thus, a scientific tool is needed to evaluate and predict the impact of dynamic pricing strategies. Publications in the field lack a common quality evaluation methodology, public data, and source code, making them difficult to reproduce. In this paper, a data-driven method, DPRank, for evaluating dynamic pricing systems is proposed. DPRank first builds a surrogate price elasticity of demand model using public data generated by a hidden dynamic pricing model, and then applies the surrogate model to build an exposed dynamic pricing model. The hidden and exposed dynamic pricing models were then systematically compared in terms of quality using a Monte Carlo simulation in terms of a company’s revenue. The effectiveness of the proposed method was tested on the dataset collected from the website of a Russian railway passenger carrier company. Depending on the train type, the quality difference between the hidden and exposed models can vary by several dozen percent on average, indicating the potential for improving the existing (hidden) company’s dynamic pricing model.

The HRM Model Based on Competency Model in the Context of New Age Intelligence

In the new era of rapid technological development, new technologies are emerging: mobile positioning technology, face recognition technology, two-dimensional code technology, artificial intelligence technology, etc. In the trend of the times, these emerging technologies continue to penetrate into people’s daily life and influence their social habits. At present, the shadow of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence has already appeared in human resource management and organizational behavior, and the application of these emerging technologies will certainly promote the change of human resource management and organizational behavior and have a double impact on human resource management and organizational behavior. On the one hand, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence bring new opportunities for the development of human resources, which can not only improve the efficiency of human resource management, optimize human resource organizational behavior, and accelerate the transformation of enterprise management mode. On the other hand, the application of these emerging technologies also brings new challenges for HR development and management: the enterprises’ demand for low-end positions decreases, increasing the employment pressure in the talent market; the enterprises’ development faces transformation and rectification, increasing the difficulty of survival of small enterprises; the employment difficulties and development prospects of HR departments are uncertain. In the context of the new era of intelligence, the impact of emerging technologies on human resource management and organizational behavior is bound to intensify, and enterprises should innovate ideas and integrate new ways and methods to upgrade the traditional human resource management model and seize the opportunity to promote human resource management changes, so that emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence can inject new vitality into modern human resource management. Based on this, this paper proposes an enterprise HR management strategy based on the competency model and combines it with a practical case study and finds that the strategy has been recognized by 91% of employees within the company and has effectively improved the efficiency of HR management.

Learning, reflexivity, decision-making, and behavioral change for sustainable viticulture associated with participatory action research

Despite the abundance of compelling scientific knowledge about dramatic changes in climate, biodiversity and the environment, there is little change in human behavior. Do humans perceive and understand the gravity of the challenges at stake, or are they overwhelmed by adversity? The challenge may be in finding appropriate levers to involve stakeholders in a broader process of shared learning, while producing scientific knowledge, to overcome uncertainty, and achieving the expected collective action? In the field of viticulture, researchers, winegrowers, citizens and environmental associations have been involved in participatory action research projects, one located in Switzerland, one in Germany and two in France. All actors were involved, from the formulation of questions up to the production of knowledge, to address the issue of the negative impacts of viticulture on the environment and human health. Group workshops and individual interviews were conducted on each of the four sites, for a nine-year period. A collective workshop involving also actors outside the project was conducted, and followed by a trinational workshop bringing together actors from Swiss, German and French projects. The audio recordings and writings produced were transcribed. All texts were analyzed on the linguistic level, with textometric tools, while going back to the actors’ initial quotes. Our results suggest that during the course of projects, more sustainable viticultural practices were designed, and implemented in the vineyard, on a large scale. Also, our analysis suggests that, in parallel to changes in viticulture practices, a new vocabulary, associated with different individual and collective reasoning, emerged in the discourse of the actors involved in projects. These major changes were associated with an inventiveness that developed within and beyond the groups. Because human reasoning changed in the context of participatory action research, we suggest that such a research format could address global issues, finally reaching awaited changes.

GREEN CAMPUS IMPLEMENTATION IN THE MALAYSIAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES: CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

Green initiatives had been taken seriously by all parties including higher education institutions. Many researchers believed that university is an essential institution to find solutions to the complexities of current global environment issues. Indeed, university should be the key hubs for innovation and environmental education, as well as the execution of human behavioural change towards sustainability. Most universities worldwide nowadays including Malaysia starts to implement various green campus initiatives to combat global warming and fostering sustainable campus growth. However, there are several challenges encountered throughout the implementation. Thus, this research attempts to examine on the current green campus implementation practices in the Malaysian public universities. Three Malaysian public universities participating in the UI GreenMetric 2021 World University Ranking had been chosen as the case study. Each university is represented by a senior representative to participate in the semi-structured interview conducted. The interview questions were constructed based on the most common and relevant chosen indicators from all six categories of UI GreenMetric. The research findings revealed that although most Malaysian public universities had implemented green initiatives as outlined in the UI GreenMetric, numerous challenges occurred. But there are solutions to push green campus initiatives to the forefront. The university management and the communities should play major roles towards realizing Sustainable Development Goals, as well as assuring more sustainable practices in the future.

Differential Effects of Hypoxia versus Hyperoxia or Physoxia on Phenotype and Energy Metabolism in Human Chondrocytes from Osteoarthritic Compared to Macroscopically Normal Cartilage.

Chondrocyte phenotype and energy metabolism are altered in osteoarthritis (OA). However, most studies characterising the change in human chondrocyte behaviour in OA have been conducted in supraphysiological oxygen concentrations. The purpose of this study was to compare phenotype and energy metabolism in chondrocytes from macroscopically normal (MN) and OA cartilage maintained in 18.9% (standard tissue culture), 6% (equivalent to superficial zone of cartilage in vivo) or 1% oxygen (equivalent to deep zone of cartilage in vivo). MMP13 production was higher in chondrocytes from OA compared to MN cartilage in hyperoxia and physoxia but not hypoxia. Hypoxia promoted SOX9, COL2A1 and ACAN protein expression in chondrocytes from MN but not OA cartilage. OA chondrocytes used higher levels of glycolysis regardless of oxygen availability. These results show that differences in phenotype and energy metabolism between chondrocytes from OA and MN cartilage differ depending on oxygen availability. OA chondrocytes show elevated synthesis of cartilage-catabolising enzymes and chondrocytes from MN cartilage show reduced cartilage anabolism in oxygenated conditions. This is relevant as a recent study has shown that oxygen levels are elevated in OA cartilage in vivo. Our findings may indicate that this elevated cartilage oxygenation may promote cartilage loss in OA.

A spectrum of complexity uncovers Dunbar’s number and other leaps in social structure

How do societies become more complex? Are there specific scales at which they are reorganized into emergent entities? Social dynamics are shaped by each person’s actions, as well as by collective trends that emerge when individuals are brought together. Features like population size, polarization, cohesion, or hierarchy add nuance and complexity to social structure, and might be present, or not, for societies of different sizes. Here we show that, while societal complexity increases monotonically with population, there are specific scales at which complexity builds up faster – one of them is close to Dunbar’s number (an estimation of the number of meaningful relationships that individuals can sustain). We have observed this by measuring, as a probe across populations of varied sizes, the sociolinguistic process that has unfolded over decades within the Spanish region of Galicia. For this, we have developed a methodological tool (social complexity spectrum), inspired by theoretical considerations about dynamics on complex networks, that could be applied in further study cases.Teaser: Changes in collective human behavior triggered by a critical population size found through sociolinguistic analysis

Worse sleep and increased energy expenditure yet no movement changes in sub-urban wild boar experiencing an influx of human visitors (anthropulse) during the COVID-19 pandemic

Expansion of urban areas, landscape transformation and increasing human outdoor activities strongly affect wildlife behaviour. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in particular led to drastic changes in human behaviour, exposing wildlife around the world to either reduced or increased human presence, potentially altering animal behaviour. Here, we investigate behavioural responses of wild boar (Sus scrofa) to changing numbers of human visitors to a suburban forest near Prague, Czech Republic, during the first 2.5 years of the COVID-19 epidemic (April 2019–November 2021). We used bio-logging and movement data of 63 GPS-collared wild boar and human visitation data based on an automatic counter installed in the field. We hypothesised that higher levels of human leisure activity will have a disturbing effect on wild boar behaviour manifested in increased movements and ranging, energy spent, and disrupted sleep patterns. Interestingly, whilst the number of people visiting the forest varied by two orders of magnitude (from 36 to 3431 people weekly), even high levels of human presence (>2000 visitors per week) did not affect weekly distance travelled, home range size, and maximum displacement of wild boar. Instead, individuals spent 41 % more energy at high levels of human presence (>2000 visitors per week), with more erratic sleep patterns, characterised by shorter and more frequent sleeping bouts. Our results highlight multifaceted effects of increased human activities (‘anthropulses’), such as those related to COVID-19 countermeasures, on animal behaviour. High human pressure may not affect animal movements or habitat use, especially in highly adaptable species such as wild boar, but may disrupt animal activity rhythms, with potentially detrimental fitness consequences. Such subtle behavioural responses can be overlooked if using only standard tracking technology.

Wastewater concentrations of human influenza, metapneumovirus, parainfluenza, respiratory syncytial virus, rhinovirus, and seasonal coronavirus nucleic-acids during the COVID-19 pandemic: a surveillance study

Respiratory disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality; however, surveillance for circulating respiratory viruses is passive and biased. Wastewater-based epidemiology has been used to understand SARS-CoV-2, influenza A, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection rates at a community level but has not been used to investigate other respiratory viruses. We aimed to use wastewater-based epidemiology to understand community viral respiratory infection occurrence. A retrospective wastewater-based epidemiology surveillance study was carried out at a large wastewater treatment plant located in California, USA. Using droplet digital RT-PCR, we measured RNA concentrations of influenza A and influenza B viruses, RSV A and RSV B, parainfluenza (1-4) viruses, rhinovirus, seasonal coronaviruses, and metapneumovirus in wastewater solids three times per week for 17 months (216 samples) between Feb 1, 2021, and June 21, 2022. Novel probe-based RT-PCR assays for non-influenza viral targets were developed and validated. We compared viral RNA concentrations to positivity rates for viral infections from clinical specimens submitted to California Sentinel Clinical Laboratories (sentinel laboratories) to assess concordance between the two datasets. We detected RNA from all tested viruses in wastewater solids. Human rhinovirus (median concentration 4300 [0-9500] copies per gram dry weight) and seasonal human coronaviruses (35 000 [17 000-56 000]) were found at the highest concentrations. Concentrations of viral RNA correlated significantly and positively with positivity rates of associated viral diseases from sentinel laboratories (tau 0·32-0·57, p<0·0009); the only exceptions were influenza B and RSV A, which were rarely detected in wastewater solids. Measurements from wastewater indicated coronavirus OC43 dominated the seasonal human coronavirus infections whereas parainfluenza 3 dominated among parainfluenza infections during the study period. Concentrations of all tested viral RNA decreased noticeably after the omicron BA.1 surge suggesting a connection between changes in human behaviour during the surge and transmission of all respiratory viruses. Wastewater-based epidemiology can be used to obtain information on circulation of respiratory viruses at a localised, community level without the need to test many individuals because a single sample of wastewater represents the entire contributing community. Results from wastewater can be available within 24 h of sample collection, generating real time information to inform public health responses, clinical decision making, and individual behaviour modifications. CDC Foundation.

Substitution benefits of British Columbia’s mitigation strategies in the bioeconomy

Globally, efforts to increase land sector contributions to net-zero emissions are pursued. Harvested wood products may retain carbon, and substitute emission-intensive products. The emission reductions achieved through substitution, or substitution benefits, can inform the design of climate-effective wood-use strategies. Mitigation analyses of a wood-based bioeconomy therefore need to include substitution to evaluate the mitigation outcomes across sectors. Substitution benefits can be estimated using displacement factors, which quantify the emissions avoided per unit of wood use. Here, we calculated the displacement factors of timber constructions and wood-derived biofuels to be around 1.03 and 0.45 tCO2e/tCO2e, respectively. Assuming substitution was achieved when changes in human behavior increased the share of wood use relative to the reference market share, we added the substitution benefits to a previous analysis that focused on biogenic emissions in British Columbia, Canada. At projected declining harvest rates, the theoretical maximum reduction that forest products can contribute over the period 2016 to 2050 is 66 MtCO2e·year−1 with an uncertainty range of 45–79 MtCO2e·year−1, relative to the baseline, by focusing on long-lived, high-displacement construction applications. However, because construction uses of wood in foreign markets are not guaranteed, and constrained by market access, the practical strategy that combines construction and biofuel uses can achieve 17.4 MtCO2e·year−1, equivalent to 30% of British Columbia’s 2050 target. Although a transformation of the bioeconomy may help achieve both climate and socio-economic benefits, potential conflict exists between maximizing regional and global benefits. How and where wood will be used can influence the desired mitigation outcomes.

Nature benefit hypothesis: Direct experiences of nature predict self‐reported pro‐biodiversity behaviors

AbstractHuman activities are damaging the world's ecosystems, posing a serious threat to life on Earth, including humanity. To address this situation, widespread and significant changes in human behavior are necessary. Direct experiences of nature can encourage individuals to adopt positive actions towards biodiversity (hereafter pro‐biodiversity behavior), but this relationship has not been well studied. Using a large sample of Japanese adults, we demonstrate that both recent and childhood frequencies of nature experiences are associated with an increased likelihood of exhibiting pro‐biodiversity behaviors. This association was found to be consistent across various forms of behaviors, including purchasing ecofriendly products, reducing pesticide use in domestic gardens, and donating to conservation organizations. However, our research also reveals a declining trend of childhood experiences of nature in Japan, resulting in an “extinction of experience.” Our results suggest that enhancing people's personal experiences with nature could help promote desired behavioral change to halt biodiversity loss.

Ankle exoskeleton torque controllers based on soleus muscle models.

Powered exoskeletons are typically task-specific, but to facilitate their wider adoption they should support a variety of tasks, which requires generalizeable controller designs. In this paper, we present two potential controllers for ankle exoskeletons based on soleus fascicles and Achilles tendon models. The methods use an estimate of the adenosine triphosphate hydrolysis rate of the soleus based on fascicle velocity. Models were evaluated using muscle dynamics from the literature, which were measured with ultrasound. We compare the simulated behavior of these methods against each other and to human-in-the-loop optimized torque profiles. Both methods generated distinct profiles for walking and running with speed variations. One of the approaches was more appropriate for walking, while the other approach estimated profiles similar to the literature for both walking and running. Human-in-the-loop methods require long optimizations to set parameters per individual for each specific task, the proposed methods can produce similar profiles, work across walking and running, and be implemented with body-worn sensors without requiring torque profile parameterization and optimization for every task. Future evaluations should examine how human behavior changes due to external assistance when using these control models.

Incentive and nudge design for human behavioural change

This paper addresses the modelling and management problems for human behavioural change, in particular, aiming reduced congestion. First, the behavioural change driven by incentivizing and informational nudging is modelled reflecting the tendency of a human group. Next, an incentive- and nudge-based optimal management problem is formulated, where the model of behavioural change is taken into account. Finally, the effectiveness of the incentive and nudge design is verified in a numerical experiment.

Untangling the Complex Relationships between Horse Welfare, Rider Safety, and Rider Satisfaction

ABSTRACT Securing the horse industry’s long-term future is becoming increasingly urgent due to community concerns for horse welfare; human behavior change may offer novel solutions to this challenging problem. Self-determination theory (SDT), a well-established theory in human behavior change, assumes humans are intrinsically motivated by three universal psychological needs: competence, autonomy, and relatedness. These align well with horse–human interaction. To explore the potential for human behavior change to improve horse welfare, this study investigated the relationship between horse welfare, rider safety, and rider satisfaction. An online survey asked equestrians about their horse-keeping and training practices, their riding accidents and injuries, and their level of satisfaction with their horse. Relative horse welfare and rider satisfaction were significantly related (r = 0.34, p < 0.001). Hyperreactive horse behavior (defined in this study as bucking, bolting, rearing, and spooking) and rider accidents and injuries were negatively related to rider satisfaction (r = −0.23, p < 0.001 and r = −0.16, p = 0.001, respectively). Further, goal achievement (r = 0.57, p < 0.001), rider control (r = 0.49, p < 0.001), and horse–human partnership (r = 0.62, p < 0.001) were all significantly related to rider satisfaction. A regression analysis testing the proposed SDT-based rider satisfaction model was significant (p < 0.001), with goal achievement, rider control, and horse–human partnership accounting for 63% of the variance of rider satisfaction scores. We found that horse welfare, rider safety, and rider satisfaction were related, with equestrian goal achievement (competence), horse control (autonomy), and horse-rider partnership (relatedness) all significantly contributing to rider satisfaction, suggesting that SDT may offer a useful framework for developing behavior change strategies. While more work is needed to develop and evaluate such strategies, a better understanding of intrinsic rider motivation represents an important first step.

Temporal Relationships Between Saharan Dust Proxies, Climate, and Meningitis in Senegal.

The Harmattan, a dry, northeasterly trade wind, transports large quantities of Saharan dust over the Sahelian region during the dry season (December-March). Studies have shown that bacterial meningitis outbreaks in Sahelian regions show hyper-endemic to endemic levels during high-dust months. We examine the (a) seasonality and intraseasonal variability of dust, climate, and meningitis and the (b) quantitative relationships between various dust proxies with meningitis lags of 0-10weeks in Senegal from 2012 to 2017. The results show that the onset of the meningitis season occurs in February, roughly 2months after the dusty season has begun. The meningitis season peaks at the beginning of April, when northeasterly wind speeds and particulate matter (PM) are relatively high, and the meningitis season ends near the end of June, when temperature and humidity rise and northeasterly wind speeds decline. Furthermore, we find that Senegal's relatively high humidity year-round may help slow the transmission of the infection, contributing to a lower disease incidence than landlocked countries in the meningitis belt. Lastly, our results suggest the desert dust may have a significant impact on the onset to the peak of the meningitis season in Senegal, particularly at the 0-2 and 10-week lag, whether that be directly through biological processes or indirectly through changes in human behavior. PM and visibility, however, are not in phase with aerosol optical depth throughout the year and consequently show different relationships with meningitis. This study further exemplifies the critical need for more PM, meteorological, and meningitis measurements in West Africa to further resolve these relationships.