A low-cost, MR-compatible olfactometer

We present a design for an olfactometer, suitable for fMRI experiments, that can be constructed at extremely low cost. The olfactometer presents odors directly to the nose via a nasal cannula at unobtrusively low flow velocities, with no large assemblies required on or near the subject’s face. The olfactometer can be controlled manually, or by computer via a serial interface. A validation study verified that the olfactometer reliably presents odors to test subjects. Errors and response latency times decreased with increased flow rate in an orderly manner, as expected.     

Breast milk odor via olfactometer for tube-fed,premature infants

Human newborns use odor cues to orient to their source of nutrition. However, tube-fed, premature infants have restricted chemosensory experience. New methods of introducing breast milk odor to tube-fed premature infants will permit empiric tests of the effect of controlled exposure to nutrient odor. We therefore developed an infant olfactometer and piloted its use in 7 tube-fed, premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit. Since nonnutritive sucking shortens the amount of time required to wean from tube-feeding, we tested the effect of breast milk odor on nonnutritive sucking. Six out of 7 subjects responded to breast milk odor with an increase in number of sucks. Statistical analysis supported the hypothesis that breast milk odor reinforces nonnutritive sucking. These results indicate the feasibility and potential of this experimental approach, and warrant further study of the effect of controlled nutrient odor exposure on feeding behavior of premature infants.     

Consumer response to tobacco smoke in service settings

• Establishing smoking policies which accommodate customers' smoking preferences is a major problem for restaurants, bars, hotels, and other firms in the service industry. This study is based on the premise that tobacco smoke can be considered a component of both the physical and ambient retail service environment. Because of legal and ethical concerns, the presence or absence of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in two types of eating facilities (bar and fine dining restaurant) was operationalized by the presentation to respondents of photographs which pictured customers in a setting where smoking was either present or absent. The success of this method of manipulation of the treatment variable was assessed with a thought listing procedure. Thought listing responses indicate that both treatments (type of facility and smoking policy) were adequately conveyed by the photographs. Results indicate that cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses were all negatively affected by the presence of tobacco smoke. The conclusion is that managers who permit smoking in their facilities risk losing non‐smoking patrons while smokers are little affected by either the presence or absence of smoke.
• The major contributions of this study include both the exploration of tobacco smoke as part of the retail service environment for eating establishments and the use of thought listings as a manipulation check for variables which were manipulated through use of photographs depicting the treatment conditions.

Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Smoking in movies, implicit associations of smoking with the self, and intentions to smoke

We examined whether identifying with a film character who smokes increases implicit associations of the self with smoking. Undergraduate men were randomly assigned to view film clips in which the male protagonist either smoked or did not smoke. We measured subsequent levels of self-smoking associations using a reaction time task, as well as self-reported beliefs about smoking and smokers. Greater identification with the smoking protagonist predicted stronger implicit associations between the self and smoking (for both smokers and nonsmokers) and increased intention to smoke (among the smokers). Stronger implicit self-smoking associations uniquely predicted increases in smokers' intentions to smoke, over and above the effects of explicit beliefs about smoking. The results provide evidence that exposure to smoking in movies is causally related to changes in smoking-related thoughts, that identification with protagonists is an important feature of narrative influence, and that implicit measures may be useful in predicting deliberative behavior.     

Chronic exposure to a novel odor increases pups' vocalizations, maternal care, and alters dopaminergic functioning in developing mice

This study was designed to assess the stress effect of manipulation of the olfactory environment in developing mice. In a first experiment it was found that mouse pups could be stressed (as measured by an increase in ultrasonic calls) by removing the litter from the dam for 15 min/day for the first 14 days of life and exposing them to a novel odor (clean bedding). This stress procedure also produced a long-term modification in maternal behavior. The stress response (ultrasounds) and the modification of maternal behavior were prevented by providing the litter with home cage bedding during maternal separation. In a second experiment it was demonstrated that early stress influenced apomorphine-induced wall climbing behavior in 15-day-old mice, suggesting stress-induced alterations in the dopaminergic system. Pups exposed to clean bedding during infancy exhibited more wall climbing behavior than pups never separated from the mother. Moreover, preventing the early stress response during mother-offspring separation, by providing pups with home cage bedding, eliminated the increase in apomorphine-induced wall climbing. Taken together these results suggest that olfactory cues are decisive in characterizing stressful situations inducing both immediate and long-lasting effects in mouse pups.     

Perceived health: a test of incremental validity in relation to smoking outcome expectancies, motivation to smoke and desire to quit smoking

This study examined the role of perceived health in predicting theoretically-relevant aspects of smoking behavior among 161 young adult regular smokers (67 females; mean age = 21.9 years (SD = 7.2), cigarettes per day (M) = 12.2 (SD = 5.7)) recruited from the general community. Consistent with prediction, results indicated that relative to anxiety sensitivity, gender, number of cigarettes smoked per day and nicotine dependence, perceived physical health uniquely and significantly predicted expectancies for negative affect reduction and expectancies that smoking would lead to negative personal consequences. Additionally, perceived health incrementally predicted motivation to smoke to reduce negative affect. In contrast to expectation, perceived health was unrelated to motivation to quit smoking. Results are discussed in relation to the role of perceived health as a cognitive vulnerability factor for specific types of smoking patterns.     

The relationship of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and other illegal drug use to delinquency among Mexican-American, black, and white adolescent males

This study examined the relationship between drug use and delinquent behavior among 348 high school males (154 whites, 172 Mexican-Americans, and 22 blacks) and 89 adjudicated delinquent males confined to a maximum-security facility for violent and repeat offenders (37 whites, 25 Mexican-Americans, and 27 blacks). Data were collected in the spring of 1986 using self-administered questionnaires. Analyses were performed separately for each racial subgroup. Simple correlations revealed that self-reported alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and other illegal drug use were all significantly related to both minor and violent delinquency for all three racial groups. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the use of these substances accounted for 40% to 47% of the variance in minor delinquency and for 59% of the variance in violent delinquency among blacks, 53% of the variance in violent delinquency among Mexican-Americans, and 34% of the variance in violent delinquency among whites. The best predictors of violent delinquency were the frequent use of illegal drugs other than marijuana and use of tobacco, in that order, among Mexican-Americans; the frequent use of other illegal drugs, marijuana, and tobacco, in that order, for whites; and the frequent use of illegal drugs, followed by marijuana, for blacks.     

In the high court of South Africa,case no. 4138/98: the global politics of access to low-cost AIDS drugs in poor countries

In 1998, 39 pharmaceutical manufacturers sued the government of South Africa to prevent the implementation of a law designed to facilitate access to AIDS drugs at low cost. The companies accused South Africa, the country with the largest population of individuals living with HIV/AIDS in the world, of circumventing patent protections guaranteed by the intellectual property rules that were included in the latest round of world trade agreements. The pharmaceutical companies dropped their lawsuit in the spring of 2001 after an avalanche of negative publicity. Yet, despite the government's victory, AIDS drugs remain very expensive in South Africa, and the government still refuses to provide antiretroviral therapy to adults. These events have shone a spotlight, not only on the possibilities for coordinated political activism in the era of instant global communications, but also on the tangled social, economic, and political dimensions of AIDS treatment in poor countries.     

Something to Shout About: A Simple,Quick Performance Enhancement Technique Improved Strength in Both Experts and Novices

In sports where an explosion of power or strength is necessary (e.g., weight lifting, tennis), athletes often yell or grunt to increase force production. Martial artists have used a similar technique for centuries called a kiap, but scientific evidence of its effectiveness is scarce. This study examined the effect of kiaping on strength and whether expertise influenced its effectiveness. Fifty (25 novices, 25 experts) martial artists completed a handgrip strength test under no kiap and kiap conditions. Performance for all participants was significantly better with the kiap (437.1 Newtons ± 94.9) than without (408.0 Newtons ± 90.6; p < .001).