Effects of duration of wearing high-heeled shoes on plantar pressure

In the present study we investigated the effects of different durations of using high-heeled shoes on plantar pressure and gait. A questionnaire survey and dynamic plantar pressure measurements were performed in 20 control females and 117 females who had worn high-heeled shoes for a long time. According to the duration of using high-heeled shoes (as specified in the questionnaire), subjects were divided into a control group and five groups with different durations of use (i.e. <2 years, 2–5 years, 6–10 years, 11–20 years and >20 years). Parameters, including peak pressure, impulse and pressure duration, in different plantar regions were measured with the Footscan pressure plate. The 2–5 years group had smaller midfoot contact areas for both feet and higher subtalar joint mobility, while the 6–10 years group had larger midfoot contact areas for both feet and prolonged foot flat phase during gait. The peak pressure and impulse under the second and fourth metatarsus were increased with the prolonged wearing of high-heeled shoes, and the pressure and impulse under the midfoot were substantially reduced in the 2–5 years group. The findings suggest that long-term use of high-heeled shoes can induce changes in arch morphology: the longitudinal arch tends to be elevated within 2–5 years; the longitudinal arch tends to be flattened within 6–10 years; and the forefoot latitudinal arch tends to collapse in more than 20 years.     

Differences between informants about type a,anger, and social support and the relationship with blood pressure

Abstract

In a study on the influence of different natural environments on self-perception and that of significant others, behavioral manifestations of Type A, Anger, and Social Support were assessed. It was hypothesized that due to different environmental demands, participants will be perceived as displaying differences in Type A behavior, anger, and social support at home and at work. Participants were 45 university employees, constituting a convenience sample. Assessment included Type A Structured Interview scores of participants and questionnaire scores for Type A, anger, and social support of participants who were also evaluated by their spouses and work supervisors. Other risk factors for coronary heart disease (i.e., blood pressure, smoking, previous heart condition, being sedentary, and family history) and their relationships with Type A, anger, and social support were also examined.

Participants and spouses agreed significantly on all measures, whereas participants and work supervisors agreed only on Type A behavior. Spouses' and work supervisors' evaluations of the participants' behavior were not or only marginally associated. Multiple regression analysis showed that the level of disagreement between the different informants with respect to Type A and social support were associated with elevated blood pressure. These results suggest that the perception of Vpe A behavior, anger, and social support may be situationally determined.     

Culture and decision‐making: Investigating cultural variations in the East Asian and North American online decision‐making processes

Research in cross‐cultural psychology suggests that East Asians hold holistic thinking styles whereas North Americans hold analytic thinking styles. The present study examines the influence of cultural thinking styles on the online decision‐making processes for Hong Kong Chinese and European Canadians, with and without time constraints. We investigated the online decision‐making processes in terms of (1) information search speed, (2) quantity of information used, and (3) type of information used. Results show that, without time constraints, Hong Kong Chinese, compared to European Canadians, spent less time on decisions and parsed through information more efficiently, and Hong Kong Chinese attended to both important and less important information, whereas European Canadians selectively focused on important information. No cultural differences were found in the quantity of information used. When under time constraints, all cultural variations disappeared. The dynamics of cultural differences and similarities in decision‐making are discussed.     

Fluctuations in brain glucose concentration during behavioral testing: dissociations between brain areas and between brain and blood

Traditional beliefs about two aspects of glucose regulation in the brain have been challenged by recent findings. First, the absolute level of glucose in the brain's extracellular fluid appears to be lower than previously thought. Second, the level of glucose in brain extracellular fluid is less stable than previously believed. In vivo brain microdialysis was used, according to the method of zero net flux, to determine the basal concentration of glucose in the extracellular fluid of the striatum in awake, freely moving rats for comparison with recent hippocampal measurements. In addition, extracellular glucose levels in both the hippocampus and the striatum were measured before, during, and after behavioral testing in a hippocampus-dependent spontaneous alternation task. In the striatum, the resting extracellular glucose level was 0.71 mM, approximately 70% of the concentration measured previously in the hippocampus. Consistent with past findings, the hippocampal extracellular glucose level decreased by up to 30 +/- 4% during testing; no decrease, and in fact a small increase (9 +/- 3%), was seen in the striatum. Blood glucose measurements obtained during the same testing procedure and following administration of systemic glucose at a dose known to enhance memory in this task revealed a dissociation in glucose level fluctuations between the blood and both striatal and hippocampal extracellular fluid. These findings suggest, first, that glucose is compartmentalized within the brain and, second, that one mechanism by which administration of glucose enhances memory performance is via provision of increased glucose supply from the blood specifically to those brain areas involved in mediating that performance.     

Cerebral lateralization and general intelligence: gender differences in a transcranial Doppler study

The present study evaluated cerebral lateralization during Raven's progressive matrices (RPM) paradigm in female and male subjects. Bilateral simultaneous transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound was used to measure mean blood flow velocities (MBFV) in the right and left middle cerebral arteries (MCAs) in 24 (15 females and 9 males) right-handed normal subjects. The female subjects used a left hemisphere strategy, while males used a right hemisphere strategy to successfully solve RPM tasks. This implies that general intelligence is associated with neural systems within one hemisphere that are accessible to a variety of cognitive processes.     

The functional role of central and peripheral vision in the control of posture

Three experiments were conducted to investigate the role of central and peripheral vision (CV and PV) in postural control. In Experiment 1, either the central or peripheral visual field were selectively stimulated using a circular random dot pattern that was either static or alternated at 5 Hz. Center of foot pressure (CoP) was used to examine postural sway during quiet standing under both CV and PV conditions. The results showed that, when the visual stimulus was presented in the periphery, the CoP area decreased and more so in the anterior-posterior (AP) than in the medio-lateral (ML) direction, indicating a characteristic directional specificity. There was no significant difference between the static and dynamic (alternating) conditions. Experiment 2 investigated the directional specificity of body sway found in Experiment 1 by having the trunk either be faced toward the stimulus display or perpendicularly to it, with the head always facing the display. The results showed that the stabilizing effect of peripheral vision was present in the direction of stimulus observation (i.e., the head/gaze direction), irrespective of trunk orientation. This suggested that head/gaze direction toward the stimulus presentation, rather than a biomechanical factor like greater mobility of the ankle joint in AP direction than in ML direction, was essential to postural stability. Experiment 3 further examined whether the stabilizing effect of peripheral vision found in Experiments 1 and 2 was caused because more dots (500) were presented as visual cues to the peripheral visual field than to the central visual field (20 dots) by presenting the same number of dots (20) in both conditions. It was found that, in spite of the equal number of dots, the postural sway amplitudes were larger for the central vision conditions than for the peripheral vision conditions. In conclusion, the present study showed that peripheral rather than central vision contributes to maintaining a stable standing posture, with postural sway being influenced more in the direction of stimulus observation, or head/gaze direction, than in the direction of trunk orientation, which suggests that peripheral vision operates primarily in a viewer-centered frame of reference characterized by the head/gaze direction rather than in a body-centered frame of reference characterized by the anatomical planes of the body.     

The impact of verbal feedback about blushing on social discomfort and facial blood flow during embarrassing tasks

To investigate whether verbal feedback about blushing influences subsequent social discomfort or blushing itself, changes in facial blood flow and ratings of blushing and embarrassment were investigated in high (N=28) and low scorers (N=28) on the Blushing Propensity scale while singing and reading aloud, and while listening to audiotapes of their performance. After each task half of the participants were told that they had blushed, and the rest were told that they had not blushed. Blood flow increased progressively in participants with high blushing propensity scores who were given "blushing" feedback, but not in the other participants. This finding suggests that expecting to blush may become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Verbal feedback about blushing strongly influenced subsequent social discomfort, and mimicked the effects of blushing propensity on ratings of embarrassment and blushing intensity. In sum, the findings support the view that preconceptions about blushing propensity are shaped by past learning experiences, that concern about blushing is a major source of discomfort in embarrassing situations, and that these concerns are often unrelated to the actual intensity of blushing.     

A test of the 2 × 2 Model of Perfectionistic Pressure in youth sport

Perfectionistic pressure from coaches and parents is likely to contribute to the development of perfectionism in youth athletes. However, if and how perfectionistic pressure from coaches and parents interact to predict the development of perfectionism is unknown. With this in mind, the present study tested a new model – the 2 × 2 Model of Perfectionistic Pressure – that focuses on the different combinations of perfectionistic pressure youth athletes can experience. Four within-person combinations of perfectionistic pressure are identified and compared: Pure coach pressure (high coach pressure/low parental pressure), pure parental pressure (low coach pressure/high parental pressure), mixed pressure (high coach pressure/high parental pressure), and low pressure (low coach pressure/low parental pressure). To test the model, a sample of 210 youth athletes (M age = 14.68 years) completed measures of perfectionistic strivings, perfectionistic concerns, coach pressure to be perfect, and parental pressure to be perfect. Moderated hierarchical regression and simple slopes analyses revealed that mixed pressure was related to the highest levels of both perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns. The findings provide initial evidence for the new model and suggests it will be useful in studying the development of perfectionism and other outcomes in sport.     

The reliability of nocturnal vaginal blood flow

Fourteen subjects participated in a sleep study designed to document the reliability of measurements of REM-related vaginal blood-flow changes. Several standard sleep parameters were also examined for comparison with vaginal measures. The most reliable vaginal measure was the maximal change in disengorgement for a given REM period averaged across a night of REM periods. The reliability of this measure compared favorably with that of a highly reliable computerized measure of REM density. It is suggested that nocturnal vaginal blood-flow measures have sufficient reliability to be useful in the differential diagnosis of organic and psychogenic sexual dysfunction.This study was supported in part by a training grant to the Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville (USPHS532DE07133-02), and a grant from the NIH (USPHSCA26364R073241-29) to the second author.     

REDUCING RISK OF PRESSURE SORES: EFFECTS OF WATCH PROMPTS AND ALARM AVOIDANCE ON WHEELCHAIR PUSH-UPS

People who use wheelchairs are at risk for developing pressure sores. Regular pressure relief, in the form of a wheelchair push-up, is one way to reduce the likelihood of pressure sores. We examined the effects of antecedent (i.e., instructions, audible prompts) and consequent (i.e., alarm avoidance) events on wheelchair push-ups, using a multiple baseline analysis with 2 participants with spina bifida. Results suggest that the combined procedure was more effective than either antecedent or consequent events alone, and there is some evidence suggesting maintenance of effects over time.