Concurrent Behavior Research Articles

Cancer Risk–Promoting Information: The Communication Environment of Young Adults

Young adulthood represents a time of myriad transitions, which leave young adults (YAs) more susceptible to the influences of cancer risk-promoting information. The tobacco, alcohol, indoor tanning, and food and beverage industries engage in aggressive marketing strategies through both traditional and social media to target this age group to consume their products, which have known links to cancer. Despite this barrage of messaging, detailed data are lacking on the communication behaviors of subgroups of this diverse age group, particularly those from low SES. This paper explores the available data on media usage among YAs and describes the cancer risk-promoting information environment, with a focus on communication inequalities and their implications for cancer research and control. Nationally representative data on media consumption patterns indicate that the majority of YAs access a diverse range of traditional and social media platforms, but these data do not fully describe differences at the intersection of age and important factors such as SES, gender, race/ethnicity, or urban/rural residence. Meanwhile, risk-promoting information is heavily marketed to YAs across media, with an increasing focus on using social media sites to normalize products and evade marketing restrictions. Gaps in the available data on YAs' media consumption behaviors, coupled with aggressive risk-promoting marketing strategies toward YAs, may impede cancer control efforts. Relationships between exposure to various cancer risk-promoting information, concurrent risk behaviors, SES disparities, and communication inequalities should be investigated to develop innovative and effective control programs and policies to promote cancer control in this important group.

Reviewing Automated Sensor-Based Visitor Tracking Studies: Beyond Traditional Observational Methods?

ABSTRACTThe method of timing and tracking has a long history within visitor studies and exhibition evaluation. With an increase in indoor tracking research, sensor-based positioning tool usage in museums has grown, as have expectations regarding the efficacy of technological sensing systems. This literature review identifies emerging trends in sensor-based tracking methods used for museum visitor studies. Ten studies are identified, in which five sensor-based solutions are used to access visitor movement in museum settings. These are compared with more established observational timing and tracking methods in terms of obtained level of detail, accuracy, level of obtrusiveness, automation of data entry, ability to time concurrent behaviors, and amount of observer training needed. Although individual sensor-based and traditional, observational methods had both strengths and weaknesses, all sensor-based timing and tracking methods provided automated data entry and the opportunity to track a number of visitors simultaneously regardless of the available personnel.

A qualitative study of the experiences and views of parents of young people attending concurrent dialectical behavioural therapy group interventions

Based on qualitative methods, the study describes experiences of parents of young people attending concurrent dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) group interventions. Parents reported a positive group experience, noticing benefits for themselves and their children, and a greater sense of hope for the future.

Antiretroviral therapy adherence and self-efficacy among people living with HIV and a history of drug use in Vietnam.

People living with HIV with a history of drug use face additional psychosocial challenges that could compromise their adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART). This study examined ART treatment adherence and adherence self-efficacy among people living with HIV with a history of drug use in Vietnam. We used cross-sectional baseline data collected between October 2014 and February 2015 from a randomized controlled trial in Vietnam. Of the 900 persons with a history of drug use in the trial, a sample of 109 people living with HIV currently on ART were included in the study. The vast majority (92%) of the participants reported not missing any medications in the past 30 days. Multiple regression results indicated that social support was positively associated with adherence self-efficacy (β = 0.420, P < 0.001) and general adherence to ART (β = 0.201, P = 0.0368). General adherence to ART was negatively associated with depressive symptoms (β = -0.188, P = 0.046) and current heroin use (β = -0.196, P = 0.042). These findings underscore the importance of addressing mental health and social challenges facing people living with HIV with a history of drug use to promote ART treatment adherence. Clinical management of HIV should identify and address concurrent substance use behaviors to maximize adherence and treatment outcomes.

Firearm carrying and concurrent substance use behaviours in a community-based sample of emerging adults

IntroductionThis paper examines associations between high-risk gun carrying and substance use in emerging adults (ages 18–22). The coexistence of these high-risk behaviours in a general population of emerging adults can...

Maternal depression and intimate partner violence exposure: Longitudinal analyses of the development of aggressive behavior in an at-risk sample.

A substantial body of literature has documented the negative effects of intimate partner violence (IPV) on a wide range of children's developmental outcomes. However, whether a child's exposure to IPV leads to increased adjustment difficulties is likely to depend on a variety of factors, including the caregiver's mental health and the developmental time period when IPV exposure occurs. The present study seeks to improve our understanding of the long-term effects of IPV exposure and maternal depression on the development of children's overt aggressive behavior. Longitudinal analyses (i.e., latent growth curve modeling) examining three time points (toddler: age 2-3 years, preschool/kindergarten: age 4-5 years, and elementary school: age 6-8 years) were conducted using 1,399 at-risk children drawn from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW-I). IPV exposure during age 2-3 years was significantly related to concurrent aggressive behavior and aggressive behavior during age 4-5 years. At all three time points, IPV was significantly associated with maternal depression, which in turn, was significantly related to higher levels of aggressive behavior. There was also a significant indirect lagged effect of IPV exposure at age 2-3 years through maternal depression on aggressive behavior at age 4-5 years. Results indicated that maternal depression was a strong predictor of increased reports of overt aggressive behavior, suggesting that interventions to buffer the effects of IPV exposure should focus on relieving maternal depression and fostering productive social behavior in children. Aggr. Behav. 43:375-385, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Concurrent Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Prolonged Exposure Reduces Symptoms and Improves Overall Quality of Life for a Veteran With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder

This article presents a case study illustration of integrated, concurrent dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and prolonged exposure (PE), conducted within a Veterans Affairs health care system. Treatment in this case effectively reduced symptoms and improved overall quality of life. Based on clinical complexities encountered (e.g., substance use, nonsuicidal self-harm, treatment setting constraints), recommendations are provided for concurrent treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder in veterans. Recommendations include consideration of flexibility in duration of pre-PE stabilization, modification of DBT phone coaching protocol, management of structural barriers to treatment access, full use of consultation, and coordination of clinician roles.

Gender asymmetry in concurrent partnerships and HIV prevalence

The structure of the sexual network of a population plays an essential role in the transmission of HIV. Concurrent partnerships, i.e. partnerships that overlap in time, are important in determining this network structure. Men and women may differ in their concurrent behavior, e.g. in the case of polygyny where women are monogamous while men may have concurrent partnerships. Polygyny has been shown empirically to be negatively associated with HIV prevalence, but the epidemiological impacts of other forms of gender-asymmetric concurrency have not been formally explored. Here we investigate how gender asymmetry in concurrency, including polygyny, can affect the disease dynamics. We use a model for a dynamic network where individuals may have concurrent partners. The maximum possible number of simultaneous partnerships can differ for men and women, e.g. in the case of polygyny. We control for mean partnership duration, mean lifetime number of partners, mean degree, and sexually active lifespan. We assess the effects of gender asymmetry in concurrency on two epidemic phase quantities (R0 and the contribution of the acute HIV stage to R0) and on the endemic HIV prevalence. We find that gender asymmetry in concurrent partnerships is associated with lower levels of all three epidemiological quantities, especially in the polygynous case. This effect on disease transmission can be attributed to changes in network structure, where increasing asymmetry leads to decreasing network connectivity.

Maladaptive Sexual Behavior Following Concurrent Methamphetamine and Sexual Experience in Male Rats is Associated with Altered Neural Activity in Frontal Cortex.

The use of psychostimulants is often associated with hypersexuality, and psychostimulant users have identified the effects of drug on sexual behavior as a reason for further use. It was previously demonstrated in male rats that methamphetamine (Meth), when administered concurrently with sexual behavior results in impairment of inhibition of sexual behavior in a conditioned sex aversion (CSA) paradigm where mating is paired with illness. This is indicative of maladaptive sex behavior following Meth and sex experience. The present study examined the neural pathways activated during inhibition of sexual behavior in male rats and the effects of concurrent Meth and sexual behavior on neural activity, using ERK phosphorylation (pERK). First, exposure to conditioned aversive stimuli in males trained to inhibit sexual behavior in the CSA paradigm increased pERK expression in medial prefrontal (mPFC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and areas in striatum and amygdala. Second, effects of concurrent Meth and sex experience were tested in males that were exposed to four daily sessions of concurrent Meth (1 mg/kg) or saline and mating and subsequently exposed to CSA one week after last treatment. Meth and mating-treated males showed significant impairment of inhibition of mating, higher pERK expression under baseline conditions, and disrupted pERK induction by exposure to the conditioned aversive stimuli in mPFC and OFC. These alterations of pERK occurred in CaMKII-expressing neurons, suggesting changes in efferent projections of these areas. Altogether, these data show that concurrent Meth and mating experience causes maladapative sexual behavior that is associated with alterations in neural activation in mPFC and OFC.

From Process Models to Concurrent Systems in Alvis Language

Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) is the leading visual notation used for modelling business processes. This paper shows how the Alvis modelling language can be used for formal analysis of BPMN models. Alvis supports graphical modelling of interconnections among subsystems called agents as well as a high-level programming specification for describing the agents’ behaviour. Its advantage is the possibility of formal verification using proven model checking techniques. We propose a translation from the BPMN model to the Alvis representation, which is discussed and evaluated using an illustrative example of a process for evaluation of a student assignment. Thanks to the translation it is possible to perform formal verification of a BPMN model in a high-level concurrent environment. As opposed to some low-level representations, such as Petri nets, semantics of Alvis is close to the original BPMN model. Moreover, if a concurrent system behaviour is specified using a BPMN model, it is possible to generate a formal model (a preliminary implementation) of the system.

Cumulative Effect of Obesogenic Behaviours on Adiposity in Spanish Children and Adolescents

Objective: Little is known about the cumulative effect of obesogenic behaviours on childhood obesity risk. We determined the cumulative effect on BMI z-score, waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), overweight and abdominal obesity of four lifestyle behaviours that have been linked to obesity. Methods: In this cross-sectional analysis, data were obtained from the EnKid sudy, a representative sample of Spanish youth. The study included 1,614 boys and girls aged 5-18 years. Weight, height and waist circumference were measured. Physical activity (PA), screen time, breakfast consumption and meal frequency were self-reported on structured questionnaires. Obesogenic behaviours were defined as <1 h PA/day, ≥2 h/day screen time, skipping breakfast and <3 meals/day. BMI z-score was computed using age- and sex-specific reference values from the World Health Organization (WHO). Overweight including obesity was defined as a BMI > 1 SD from the mean of the WHO reference population. Abdominal obesity was defined as a WHtR ≥ 0.5. Results: High screen time was the most prominent obesogenic behaviour (49.7%), followed by low physical activity (22.4%), low meal frequency (14.4%), and skipping breakfast (12.5%). Although 33% of participants were free of all 4 obesogenic behaviours, 1, 2, and 3 or 4 behaviours were reported by 44.5%, 19.3%, and 5.0%, respectively. BMI z-score and WHtR were positively associated (p < 0.001) with increasing numbers of concurrent obesogenic behaviours. The odds of presenting with obesogenic behaviours were significantly higher in children who were overweight (OR 2.68; 95% CI 1.50; 4.80) or had abdominal obesity (OR 2.12; 95% CI 1.28; 3.52); they reported more than 2 obesogenic behaviours. High maternal and parental education was inversely associated (p = 0.004 and p < 0.001, respectively) with increasing presence of obesogenic behaviours. Surrogate markers of adiposity increased with numbers of concurrent presence of obesogenic behaviours. The opposite was true for high maternal and paternal education.

Formal Verification of Behavioral AADL Models by Stateful Timed CSP

AADL along with its Behavior Annex is an architecture and behavior description language for safety-critical domains, e.g. avionics, aerospace, and defence. In order to formally analyze behavior properties of AADL models, it is necessary to transform the AADL language into formal languages supported by formal verification tools. Moreover, comprehensive formal verification of AADL models highly requires that the transformation supports larger subset of the AADL language, as well as verification tools are able to capture various behavior of AADL, such as concurrency and timing. As an extended communicating sequential process (CSP), stateful timed CSP with its model checker-PAT provide an strongly expressive language and verification tool for real-time systems, distributed systems, and concurrent systems. This paper introduces a model transformation approach from a comparatively complete subset of AADL to stateful timed CSP, in particular supporting major components of AADL Behavior Annex. We propose a comprehensive set of transformation rules for AADL to stateful timed CSP. Then, we perform formal verification in PAT to analyze concurrent behavior properties of AADL models, such as safety, liveness, and trace refinement with various fairness assumptions, in which we consider time capacities, deadlines, periods of AADL threads and durations of AADL processes. As a study case, we develop an AADL model of F-16 “Auto Pilot Controller” and transform the model into Stateful Timed CSP. We specify a set of critical properties of the model and perform formal verification in PAT.

Cigar Product Modification Among High School Youth.

Prevalence of cigar use has been increasing among youth. Research indicates that youth are modifying cigar products either by "freaking" (ie, removing the filter paper) or "blunting" (removing the tobacco and supplementing or replacing with marijuana), yet little is known about youth who engage in this behavior. Thus, this study examines demographic and concurrent substance use behaviors of youth who modify cigars. Data from the 2013 Cuyahoga County Youth Risk Behavior survey were examined (n = 16 855). The survey collected data on demographics, cigar product use, cigar modification behaviors, and current cigarette, hookah and marijuana use. Responses to cigar product use items were used to create a composite to classify youth in one of eight unique user categories. Univariate and bivariate statistics were calculated using SPSS complex samples procedures. Overall, 15.2% reported current cigar product use, 11.0% reported current freaking, and 18.5% reported current blunt use; taken together, 25.3% of respondents reported any current use of a cigar product. When examined by user category, of those who endorsed any cigar product use, cigars, cigarillos, and little cigars use only was most endorsed (26.3%), followed by Blunt only (25.2%) and all three (ie, cigars, cigarillos, and little cigars, freaking, and blunting; 17.4%). A substantial proportion of high school youth who report using cigar products are modifying them in some way, with nearly half freaking and nearly two-thirds blunting. Given the FDA Center for Tobacco products recent extension of its regulatory authority to include cigar products, it is imperative to understand more about the prevalence of and reasons for cigar modification behaviors. Although the FDA has recently enacted regulatory authority over cigar products, little is known about cigar product modification. This is the first study to concurrently examine two unique cigar modification behaviors, "freaking" (ie, removing the filter paper) and "blunting" (removing the tobacco and supplementing or replacing with marijuana). A significant proportion of high school youth are modifying cigar products to be used as a tobacco product and as a mechanism to smoke marijuana. More research is needed to understand these behaviors to prevent and reduce the use of cigar products among youth.

The true concurrency of differential interaction nets

We analyse the reduction of differential interaction nets from the point of view of so-called ‘true concurrency,’ that is, employing a non-interleaving model of parallelism. More precisely, we associate with each differential interaction net an event structure describing its reduction. We show how differential interaction nets are only able to generate confusion-free event structures, and we argue that this is a serious limitation in terms of the concurrent behaviours they may express. In fact, confusion is an extremely elementary phenomenon in concurrency (for example, it already appears in CCS with just prefixing and parallel composition) and we show how its presence is preserved by any encoding respecting the degree of distribution and the reduction semantics. We thus infer that no reasonably expressive process calculus may be satisfactorily encoded in differential interaction nets. We conclude with an analysis of one such encoding proposed by Ehrhard and Laurent, and argue that it does not contradict our claims, but rather supports them.

Assessment of Motivational Cognitions in Diabetes Self-Care: the Motivation Thought Frequency Scales for Glucose Testing, Physical Activity and Healthy Eating.

There is a need for improved measurement of motivation for diabetes self-care. The Elaborated Intrusion Theory of Desire offers a coherent framework for understanding and identifying the cognitive-affective events that constitute the subjective experience of motivation and may therefore inform the development of such an instrument. Recent research has shown the resultant Motivation Thought Frequency scale (MTF) to have a stable factor structure (Intensity, Incentives Imagery, Self-Efficacy Imagery, Availability) when applied to physical activity, excessive snacking or alcohol use in the general population. The current study aimed to confirm the four-factor structure of the MTF for glucose testing, physical activity and healthy eating in people with type 2 diabetes. Associations with self-reports of concurrent diabetic self-care behaviours were also examined. Confirmatory factor analyses tested the internal structure, and multiple regressions assessed the scale's relationship with concurrent self-care behaviours. The MTF was completed by 340 adults with type 2 diabetes, and 237 from that sample also reported self-care behaviours. Separate MTFs assessed motivation for glucose testing, physical activity and healthy eating. Self-care was assessed using questions from the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities. The MTF for each goal achieved an acceptable fit on all indices after selected errors within factors were allowed to intercorrelate. Intensity and Self-Efficacy Imagery provided the strongest and most consistent correlations with relevant self-care behaviours. Results provide preliminary support for the MTF in a diabetes sample. Testing of its sensitivity to change and its predictive utility over time is needed.

On concurrent behaviors and focusing in linear logic

Concurrent Constraint Programming (CCP) is a simple and powerful model of concurrency where processes interact by telling and asking constraints into a global store of partial information. Since its inception, CCP has been endowed with declarative semantics where processes are interpreted as formulas in a given logic. This allows for the use of logical machinery to reason about the behavior of programs and to prove properties of them. Nevertheless, the logical characterization of CCP programs exhibits normally a weak level of adequacy since proofs in the logical system may not correspond directly to traces of the program. In this paper, we study different encodings from CCP into intuitionistic linear logic (ILL) and we compare the level of adequacy attained in each. By relying on a focusing discipline, we show that it is possible to give a logical characterization to CCP with the highest level of adequacy. Moreover, we show how to characterize maximal-parallelism semantics for CCP by relying on a multi-focusing discipline for ILL. These results, besides giving proof techniques for CCP, entail (safe) optimizations for the execution of CCP programs. Finally, we show how to interpret CCP procedure calls as fixed points in ILL, thus opening the possibility of reasoning by induction about properties of CCP programs.

Psychological Distress Moderates the Intention-Behavior Association for Sexual Partner Concurrency Among Adults.

Research suggests that intentions are an important determinant of sexual risk behavior. However, this association is often weaker than hypothesized. This research investigated whether psychological distress (i.e., depression, anxiety) can help to explain the intentions-behavior gap. We used data from 397 patients seeking care at an STI clinic to test whether the association between partner concurrency intentions and behavior 3months later was moderated by distress. Intentions predicted concurrency behavior only among less-distressed individuals; however, exploratory analyses for condom use did not demonstrate this effect. Comprehensive sexual health intervention programs should address affective determinants of risk behavior.

Total Pairwise Quantum Correlation and Entanglement in a Mixed-Three-Spin Ising-XY Model with Added Dzyaloshinskii—Moriya Interaction under Decoherence

We investigate the behavior of geometric global quantum discord (GGQD) and concurrence (C) between half-spins of a mixed-three-spin (1/2, 1, 1/2) system with the Ising-XY model for which spins (1, 1/2) have the Ising interaction and half-spins (1/2, 1/2) have both XY and the Dzyaloshinskii—Moriya interactions together, under the decoherence action. A single-ion anisotropy property with coefficient ζ is assumed for the spin-integer. This system which includes an analytical Hamiltonian is considered at the front of an external homogeneous magnetic field B in thermal equilibrium. Finally, we compare GGQD and C and express some interesting phase flip reactions of the total quantum correlation and pairwise entanglement between spins (1/2, 1/2). Generally, we conclude that the concurrence and GGQD have different behaviors under the phase flip channel.

Effectiveness of Risperidone Augmentation in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Experience From a Specialty Clinic in India.

Risperidone is the most widely used augmenting agent in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, a recent controlled study found risperidone to be no different from placebo, raising doubts about its effectiveness. In this context, we sought to examine the real-world effectiveness of risperidone from the large database of an OCD clinic in India. A total of 1314 consecutive patients who registered at the OCD clinic between 2004 and 2014 were evaluated with structured interviews and scales. Patients with OCD initiated on risperidone augmentation without concurrent cognitive behavior therapy and who were on stable and adequate doses of serotonin reuptake inhibitors for at least 12 preceding weeks were included for analysis. The primary outcome measure was all-cause discontinuation. Logistic regression was performed to identify the factors predicting improvement with risperidone augmentation. A total of 92 patients were eligible for analysis. Risperidone continued to be used in 23 patients (25%) at the time of last follow-up, and the remaining discontinued either because of ineffectiveness or intolerability. The fall in the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale scores was significantly greater in patients who continued to take risperidone when compared with those who did not (41.6% vs 3.7%, t = 6.95, P < 0.001). A total of 22 patients (24%) were noted to have at least a 25% reduction on the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale scores. On regression analysis, no predictors of improvement with risperidone augmentation could be identified. The study demonstrated, in a real-world setting, that risperidone may be a useful augmenting agent in a proportion of patients with partial/poor response to serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

Sexual Activity before Sports Competition: A Systematic Review.

Sexual activity before competition has been considered as a possible cause for reduced performance since ancient Greece and Rome. Recently, the hypothesis that optimal sport performance could be influenced by a variety of factors including sexual activity before competition has been investigated. However, few scientific data are available, with the exception of anecdotal reports of individual experiences. The present systematic review focused on the current scientific evidence on the effects of sexual activity on sport performance regardless of sport type. Data were obtained following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, using PubMed/MEDLINE, ISI/Web of Science, the Cochrane Collaboration Database, Cochrane Library, Evidence Database (PEDro), Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) Search review, National Guidelines, ProQuest, and Scopus, all searched from inception further, to broaden the search, no time filter nor language restriction have been applied. Also, the gray literature was mined using Google Scholar. Only relevant scientific articles reporting outcomes of athletic performance after sexual activity were considered. The impact of sexual activity before a sport competition is still unclear, but most studies generally seem to exclude a direct impact of sexual activity on athletic aerobic and strength performance. The most important aspect seems to be the interval from the time of the sports competition that affects negatively the performance if it is shorter than 2 h. There are possible negative effects from some possible concurrent wrong behaviors such as smoking or alcohol abuse. There are no investigations about the effect of masturbation in this context. There is a need to clarify the effects of sexual activity on competition performance. The present evidence suggests that sexual activity the day before competition does not exert any negative impact on performance, even though high-quality, randomized controlled studies are urgently needed.