Addressing the gap of early intervention for eating disorders in primary health care.

AIM: Only one in four individuals with eating disorders (EDs) seek help, with many barriers to treatment-seeking present. Placing an early intervention model in primary mental health care settings is one approach to reducing these barriers. To date, only one model (emerge-ED) has been evaluated in the literature. METHODS: We aimed to replicate findings from the initial emerge-ED evaluation. We report on treatment outcomes in a new cohort and their views on barriers to treatment-seeking. We then examine how this early intervention model in primary health care has evolved to overcome the barriers to treatment delivery cited by health professionals in the initial evaluation. RESULTS: Eighty participants commenced treatment between July 2020 and March 2022 and completed a mean of 8.98 sessions, 70 (87.5%) completed >1 sessional measure on ED cognitions and behaviours, but only 31% (n = 24) completed lengthier assessments. Findings replicated initial emerge-ED outcomes, with small to moderate effect size decreases in the ED sessional measure at 70 days since treatment commencement for cognitions (d = .63) and ED behaviours (d = .09., .69). The most cited barrier by participants was "belief that my problem is not bad enough", reflective of denial of illness. Lastly, to overcome barriers to treatment delivery clinicians had to deviate from treatment protocols and work collaboratively with other healthcare providers. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings replicated the initial emerge-ED evaluation and highlight the importance of considering primary health care settings as an essential site in delivering early intervention services for EDs.

The role of decision-making and impulsivity in beverage consumption.

Soft drink and alcohol consumption have become significant public health issues. This study aimed to explore the mediating role of decision-making processes in the relationship between trait impulsivity and calorie dense beverage consumption. Participants comprised a community sample of 300 adults (aged 19-75). They completed self-report measures assessing impulsivity (SUPPS-P), reward sensitivity (RST-PQ), and participated in decision-making tasks related to risk propensity (BART), short-term strategy preference (IGT), and delay discounting rate. Beverage consumption was calculated using the BEVQ-15. Impulsivity was conceptualised within the framework of the two-factor model as consisting of rash impulsivity and reward sensitivity. Both facets of impulsivity were positively associated with both alcohol and soft drink consumption, and each independently predicted consumption of these beverages. Additionally, there was a significant interaction between rash impulsivity and reward sensitivity on soft drink consumption. Importantly, there were significant indirect effects of both rash impulsivity and reward sensitivity on soft drink consumption via delay discounting. The results support the logic of the two-factor model of impulsivity in the prediction of consumption of unhealthy beverages. Furthermore, the mediating role of delay discounting supports the hypothesis that personality traits can pass through to behaviour via decision-making processes. Further research should extend these findings to other consumption domains in both clinical and non-clinical populations.

High-Sensitivity Seismometer Development for Lunar Applications.

Lunar seismology is a critical area of research, providing insights into the Moon's internal structure, composition, and thermal history, as well as informing the design of safe and resilient habitats for future human settlements. This paper presents the development of a state-of-the-art, three-axis broadband seismometer with a low-frequency range of 0.001-1 Hz and a target sensitivity over one order of magnitude greater than previous Apollo-era instruments. The paper details the design, assembly, methodology, and test results. We compare the acceleration noise of our prototype and commercial seismometers across all three axes. Increasing the test mass and reducing its natural frequency may further improve performance. These advancements in seismometer technology hold promise for enhancing our understanding of the Moon's and other celestial bodies' internal structures and for informing the design of future landed missions to ocean worlds.

Signal Amplification in Electrochemical DNA Biosensors Using Target-Capturing DNA Origami Tiles.

Electrochemical DNA (e-DNA) biosensors are feasible tools for disease monitoring, with their ability to translate hybridization events between a desired nucleic acid target and a functionalized transducer, into recordable electrical signals. Such an approach provides a powerful method of sample analysis, with a strong potential to generate a rapid time to result in response to low analyte concentrations. Here, we report a strategy for the amplification of electrochemical signals associated with DNA hybridization, by harnessing the programmability of the DNA origami method to construct a sandwich assay to boost charge transfer resistance (RCT) associated with target detection. This allowed for an improvement in the sensor limit of detection by two orders of magnitude compared to a conventional label-free e-DNA biosensor design and linearity for target concentrations between 10 pM and 1 nM without the requirement for probe labeling or enzymatic support. Additionally, this sensor design proved capable of achieving a high degree of strand selectivity in a challenging DNA-rich environment. This approach serves as a practical method for addressing strict sensitivity requirements necessary for a low-cost point-of-care device.

Evaluating an implementation model of evidence-based therapy for eating disorders in non-specialist regional mental health settings.

BACKGROUND: Many people with eating disorders (EDs) either do not access treatment, access it well after symptoms first start, or drop out of treatment. This study evaluated ways to improve early access to evidence-based interventions for those with EDs in a non-specialist community setting. METHODS: In an Australian regional community, links were formed between general medical practitioners and treatment providers (psychologists, mental health social workers and dietitians), who received ongoing training, feedback and support. Service users had access to 20-40 subsidised treatment sessions. Data were collected from 143 patients over 18 months. Our outcomes are reported according to the RE-AIM implementation framework: Reach (we measured uptake and treatment completion); Effectiveness (impact on disordered eating cognitions, body mass index, remission, and moderators of effectiveness including illness duration, previous treatment, presence of comorbidities, presence of a normative level of disordered eating, presence of any ED behaviours, weighing in treatment, multidisciplinary case conferencing, number of dietetic sessions); Adoption (drop-out and predictors); Implementation (barriers encountered); Maintenance (subsequent activity designed to embed new practices). RESULTS: Treatment was completed by 71%; significant large decreases in eating disorder cognitions were achieved; remission was obtained by 37% (intent-to-treat). Treatment completion was predicted by lower baseline levels of disordered eating, uptake of ≥ 3 dietetic sessions, and ≥ 2 team case conferences. Greater improvement over time was predicted by regular case conferencing and in-session weighing. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of this model in a regional community setting produced completion rates and outcomes comparable to those found in specialist clinical trials of ED treatments. Service providers identified care coordination as the most important factor to connect users to services and help navigate barriers to ongoing treatment. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This research was an invited evaluation of a project implemented by the Australian Department of Health. The project did not introduce any new clinical practice but sought to improve access to evidence-based multidisciplinary treatment for people with EDs by removing four known systemic barriers: securing an accurate diagnosis, availability of multidisciplinary treatment, cost of treatment, and intensity of treatment. As such, the project did not require trial registration. Notwithstanding, this evaluation obtained ethics approval (Bellberry Human Research Ethics Committee, Application No: 2018-09-728-FR-1).

Many people with eating disorders (EDs) either do not access treatment, access it well after symptoms first start, or drop out of treatment. This study evaluated ways to improve early access to the best treatments for those with EDs in regional Australia. Links were formed between general medical practitioners and treatment providers (such as psychologists and dietitians) who received ongoing training, feedback and support. This approach achieved completion rates and outcomes equivalent to those found in specialised clinical trials of ED treatments. A key finding was the benefit of a care coordinator to connect users to services and help navigate barriers to ongoing treatment.

Diathesis-stress or differential susceptibility? Comparing the theories when determining the outcomes for children born before 33 weeks' gestation.

Infants born preterm (less than 37 weeks completed gestation) have a higher risk of suboptimal cognitive and behavioral outcomes when compared with their term-born counterparts. The risk and severity of poor outcome increases as gestational age at birth decreases; however, not all children born preterm will develop deficits, and environmental influences post birth may have a role in shaping developmental outcomes. Whilst early preterm birth is not preventable, it may be possible to intervene after birth via the environment in order to improve outcomes. The diathesis-stress theory hypothesizes that vulnerable individuals will have worse outcomes after a negative environmental exposure, whereas the differential susceptibility theory posits that vulnerable (or plastic) individuals can be both adversely and positively affected by environmental factors. These two theories were compared in 535 children born <33 weeks' gestation. The interaction between the degree of prematurity and the home environment (as measured by the Home Screening Questionnaire) at 18 months on cognition (Intelligence Quotient from the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence) and behavior (Total Difficulties Score from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) at 7 years was explored. Evidence was not found for either theory, although a supportive/stimulating home environment appeared to contribute to a decrease in the risk or severity of suboptimal scores. Future research is needed to establish stronger evidence in order to inform interventions to improve the home environment of children born preterm.

Social media, body image, and the question of causation: Meta-analyses of experimental and longitudinal evidence.

This article presents four meta-analyses that can inform causality in the relationship between social media and body image; 24 experimental samples comparing the effect of appearance-ideal social media images to non-appearance-related conditions (n = 3816); 21 experimental samples examining the effect of contextual features (e.g., comments and captions) accompanying appearance-ideal social media images (n = 3482); 14 experimental samples investigating the effect of appearance-ideal images versus other appearance images on social media (n = 2641); and 10 longitudinal samples on social media use and body image (n = 5177). Social media appearance-ideal images had a moderate negative effect on body image (Hedges' g = -0.61, p < .01), were more damaging in higher- than lower-risk contexts (Hedges' g = -0.12, p < .01), and were moderately more impactful than other social media appearance images (Hedges' g = -0.68, p = .05). These effects were smaller but significant with outliers removed. Social media use had a very small, negative correlation with body image longitudinally (Fisher's Z = -0.08, p < .001). No significant moderators emerged. Clinicians should consider approaches to managing social media use, particularly exposure to appearance-ideal imagery, in case conceptualisation and psychoeducation for clients at risk of, or experiencing, body image disturbance.

Evaluating evidence-based interventions in low socio-economic-status populations.

OBJECTIVE: Socio-economic-status (SES) has rarely been reported or investigated in eating disorders (EDs) research. This Research Forum considers, from various perspectives, how SES may impact on evaluating evidence-based treatments for EDs. METHOD: We first reviewed previous literature that informs how SES impacts prevalence of EDs, help-seeking, and treatment outcome. We then present findings from a case series effectiveness study of an early intervention program in low SES areas for EDs and discuss implications about the impact of SES on the effectiveness of evidence-based interventions. Finally, we examine barriers to conducting rigorous evaluations in this population and discuss directions for future treatment outcome research. RESULTS: Evidence suggests a higher level of disordered eating but less help seeking in lower SES groups. In our case series, 96 participants started treatment and completed a mean of 13.85 sessions, 84 (87.5%) completed a mean of 6.40 sessional measures on ED cognitions and behaviors, but only 31% completed more extensive pre-treatment and post-treatment measures. The completer effect size decrease for the global Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire score was 2.05 (95% CI: 1.43, 2.68) commensurate with other effectiveness studies in mixed SES groups. The high rates of missing data related to more extensive assessment present a barrier to evaluating evidence-based treatments in this population. DISCUSSION: Evidence from the present study revealed individuals from low SES can achieve similar treatment outcomes to other populations when receiving evidence-based ED treatment. Future studies should investigate a range of approaches to maximizing data collection, including use of shorter sessional measures.

Probing the Conformational States of a pH-Sensitive DNA Origami Zipper via Label-Free Electrochemical Methods.

DNA origami structures represent an exciting class of materials for use in a wide range of biotechnological applications. This study reports the design, production, and characterization of a DNA origami "zipper" structure, which contains nine pH-responsive DNA locks. Each lock consists of two parts that are attached to the zipper's opposite arms: a DNA hairpin and a single-stranded DNA that are able to form a DNA triplex through Hoogsteen base pairing. The sequences of the locks were selected in a way that the zipper adopted a closed configuration at pH 6.5 and an open state at pH 8.0 (transition pKa 7.6). By adding thiol groups, it was possible to immobilize the zipper structure onto gold surfaces. The immobilization process was characterized electrochemically to confirm successful adsorption of the zipper. The open and closed states were then probed using differential pulse voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy with solution-based redox agents. It was found that after immobilization, the open or closed state of the zipper in different pH regimes could be determined by electrochemical interrogation. These findings pave the way for development of DNA origami-based pH monitoring and other pH-responsive sensing and release strategies for zipper-functionalized gold surfaces.

Does perfectionism or pursuit of excellence contribute to successful learning? A meta-analytic review.

Confusion exists about the construct of perfectionism, considered to consist of perfectionistic strivings (PS) and perfectionistic concerns (PC). Recent theory suggests that pursuit of excellence is related to PS but differentiated by having a more positive impact. To test this hypothesis, we used a meta-analytic analysis to examine the associations between different measures of perfectionism and academic achievement. Correlations between academic measures (performance, academic burnout and stress, test anxiety, procrastination, self-efficacy, engagement, satisfaction, adjustment, hardiness, learning strategies) and subscales of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, Hewitt Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, Almost Perfect Scale-Revised, and Child and Adolescent Perfectionism Scale were investigated in students (Mage = 19.31, SD = 4.26). A systematic literature search yielded 67 studies (378 effect sizes). Subscales relating to standards (High Standards, Personal Standards, Self-Oriented Perfectionism) were positively related to academic performance and helpful academic outcomes. Only High Standards, which has a focus on striving for excellence, had negative associations with unhelpful academic outcomes. Two of the four subscales that measured PC (Discrepancy, Doubts about Actions) were negatively related to academic performance, and Discrepancy shared a negative association with helpful academic outcomes. All PC subscales were positively associated with unhelpful academic outcomes. As such, PC are maladaptive for successful learning and a distinction between PS and healthy pursuit of excellence is worth further exploration. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

The effect of cognitive and behavioral therapy for insomnia on week-to-week changes in sleepiness and sleep parameters in patients with comorbid insomnia and sleep apnea: a randomized controlled trial.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: While cognitive and behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTi) is an effective treatment in patients with comorbid moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), there is concern that the bedtime restriction component of CBTi might dangerously exacerbate daytime sleepiness in such patients. We examined randomized controlled trial data to investigate the effect of OSA severity, and pretreatment daytime sleepiness on week-to-week changes in daytime sleepiness and sleep parameters during CBTi and no-treatment control. METHODS: One hundred and forty-five patients with untreated physician-diagnosed OSA (apnea-hypopnea index ≥15) and psychologist-diagnosed insomnia (ICSD-3) were randomized to a 4-week CBTi program (n = 72) or no-treatment control (n = 73). The Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) and sleep diaries were completed during pretreatment, weekly CBTi sessions, and posttreatment. Effects of OSA severity, pretreatment daytime sleepiness, and intervention group on weekly changes in daytime sleepiness and sleep parameters were investigated. RESULTS: The CBTi group reported a 15% increase in ESS scores following the first week of bedtime restriction (M change = 1.3 points, 95% CI = 0.1-2.5, p = 0.031, Cohen's d = 0.27) which immediately returned to pretreatment levels for all subsequent weeks, while sleep parameters gradually improved throughout CBTi. There were no differences in changes in daytime sleepiness during treatment between CBTi and control groups or OSA-severity groups. Higher pretreatment ESS scores were associated with a greater ESS reduction during CBTi. CONCLUSIONS: CBTi appears to be a safe and effective treatment in the presence of comorbid moderate and severe OSA. Nevertheless, patients living with comorbid insomnia and sleep apnea and treated with CBTi should be monitored closely for increased daytime sleepiness during the initial weeks of bedtime restriction therapy. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: Treating comorbid insomnia with obstructive sleep apnoea (COMISA) study: A new treatment strategy for patients with combined insomnia and sleep apnoea, https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id = 365184 Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12613001178730. Universal Trial Number: U1111-1149-4230.

Cognitive and behavioral therapy for insomnia increases the use of continuous positive airway pressure therapy in obstructive sleep apnea participants with comorbid insomnia: a randomized clinical trial.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) commonly co-occur which makes OSA difficult to treat with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). We conducted a randomized controlled trial in participants with OSA and co-occurring insomnia to test the hypothesis that initial treatment with cognitive and behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-i), versus treatment as usual (TAU) would improve insomnia symptoms and increase subsequent acceptance and use of CPAP. METHODS: One hundred and forty-five participants with OSA (apnea-hypopnea index ≥ 15) and comorbid insomnia were randomized to either four sessions of CBT-i, or TAU, before commencing CPAP therapy until 6 months post-randomization. Primary between-group outcomes included objective average CPAP adherence and changes in objective sleep efficiency by 6 months. Secondary between-group outcomes included rates of immediate CPAP acceptance/rejection, and changes in; sleep parameters, insomnia severity, and daytime impairments by 6 months. RESULTS: Compared to TAU, participants in the CBT-i group had 61 min greater average nightly adherence to CPAP (95% confidence interval [CI] = 9 to 113; p = 0.023, d = 0.38) and higher initial CPAP treatment acceptance (99% vs. 89%; p = 0.034). The CBT-i group showed greater improvement of global insomnia severity, and dysfunctional sleep-related cognitions by 6 months (both: p < 0.001), and greater improvement in sleep impairment measures immediately following CBT-i. There were no between-group differences in sleep outcomes, or daytime impairments by 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: In OSA participants with comorbid insomnia, CBT-i prior to initiating CPAP treatment improves CPAP use and insomnia symptoms compared to commencing CPAP without CBT-i. OSA patients should be evaluated for co-occurring insomnia and considered for CBT-i before commencing CPAP therapy. CLINICAL TRIAL: Treating comorbid insomnia with obstructive sleep apnea (COMSIA) study: A new treatment strategy for patients with combined insomnia and sleep apnea, https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=365184 Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12613001178730. Universal Trial Number: U1111-1149-4230.

SAM Composition and Electrode Roughness Affect Performance of a DNA Biosensor for Antibiotic Resistance.

Antibiotic resistance is a growing concern in the treatment of infectious disease worldwide. Point-of-care (PoC) assays which rapidly identify antibiotic resistance in a sample will allow for immediate targeted therapy which improves patient outcomes and helps maintain the effectiveness of current antibiotic stockpiles. Electrochemical assays offer many benefits, but translation from a benchtop measurement system to low-cost portable electrodes can be challenging. Using electrochemical and physical techniques, this study examines how different electrode surfaces and bio-recognition elements, i.e. the self-assembled monolayer (SAM), affect the performance of a biosensor measuring the hybridisation of a probe for antibiotic resistance to a target gene sequence in solution. We evaluate several commercially available electrodes which could be suitable for PoC testing with different SAM layers and show that electrode selection also plays an important role in overall biosensor performance.

Gendered mortality differentials over the rural-urban continuum: The analysis of census linked longitudinal data from England and Wales.

BACKGROUND: Previous research shows that mortality varies significantly by residential context; however, the nature of this variation is unclear. Some studies report higher mortality levels in urban compared to rural areas, whereas others suggest elevated mortality in rural areas or a complex U-shaped relationship. Further, the extent to which compositional factors explain urban-rural mortality variation, the extent to which contextual factors play a role and whether and how the patterns vary by gender also remain unclear. This study investigates urban-rural mortality variation in England and Wales and the causes of this variation. METHOD: The study applies survival analysis to the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study; the population aged 20 and older in 2001 is followed for 10 years. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The analysis demonstrates a clear urban-rural mortality gradient, with the risk of dying increasing with each level of urbanisation. The exceptions are those living in areas adjacent to London, who consistently exhibit lower mortality than anticipated. Once the models are adjusted to individuals' socio-economic characteristics, the variation across the urban-rural continuum reduces substantially, although the gradient persists suggesting contextual effects. Females are found to be influenced more by their surrounding environment and males by their socio-economic position, although both experience lower mortality in rural compared to urban areas.

The relationship between anomalistic belief and biases of evidence integration and jumping to conclusions.

Biases in the assessment and integration of evidence are likely contributors to anomalistic (e.g., paranormal, extra-terrestrial) beliefs because of the non-evidence based nature of these beliefs. However, little research has examined the relationship between anomalistic beliefs and evidence integration biases. The current study addressed this gap by examining the relationship between anomalistic belief and four such biases; bias against disconfirmatory evidence (BADE), bias against confirmatory evidence (BACE), liberal acceptance bias, and the jumping to conclusions bias (JTC). Standard BADE scenarios were used to measure BADE, BACE, and the liberal acceptance bias: Participants were given three pieces of evidence, one at a time, and required to rate several alternative explanations. The JTC was measured using two draws-to-decisions tasks (beads and emotionally salient), and participants also completed measures of anomalistic belief and delusion-proneness. Results showed that liberal acceptance was the only evidence integration bias that significantly predicted greater overall anomalistic belief. However, this relationship was no longer significant once delusion proneness was controlled for. Additionally, BADE significantly predicted experiential (but not other types of) anomalistic beliefs even after controlling for delusion proneness. We propose that liberal acceptance may lead people to form anomalistic beliefs on the basis of little evidence, and that stronger BADE may make these beliefs highly resistant to change.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of cognitive processing deficits associated with body dysmorphic disorder.

This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the evidence supporting the association between body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) symptomology and four types of cognitive processing abnormalities: local processing, selective attention, interpretive biases, and memory deficits. Twenty-three studies met inclusion requirements that examined differences in performance on cognitive tasks between BDD and control groups across the four categories. Multilevel modelling was used to calculate an overall effect size for each cognitive category. BDD and control groups differed significantly on measures of selective attention (g = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.26: 0.93), interpretive biases (g = 0.30, 95% CI = . 07: 0.54), and memory deficits (g=.56, 95% CI = 0.26: 0.87). Differences between the BDD and control groups on measures of local processing did not reach significance. These findings support the hypothesis that people with BDD may selectively attend to perceived threats or to disorder-related stimuli, misinterpret ambiguous stimuli as threatening, overvalue the importance of attractiveness, and have inaccurate coding and recall for facial or bodily stimuli. Recommendations for future research of these specific cognitive deficits in BDD include introducing the use of Modified Dot Probe Paradigms and new treatment targets that can be used as adjuncts to current treatment modalities.

Brief school-based interventions to assist adolescents' sleep-onset latency: Comparing mindfulness and constructive worry versus controls.

Difficulties falling asleep are common among adolescents, especially during times of stress. Adolescents may thus benefit from brief techniques (15 min) that decrease pre-sleep cognitive-emotional arousal and sleep-onset latency. The present study used a 3 (intervention: mindfulness bodyscan mp3, constructive worry, control) by 3 (time: baseline, week 1, week 2) mixed-model design on a school-based sample of adolescents (N = 232; Mage  = 15.9 ± 0.8 years, range = 14-18 years; 19% male), and a sub-sample of adolescents with prolonged sleep-onset latency (i.e. ≥30 min; N = 119; Mage  = 16.9 ± 0.9 years; 21% male). It was expected that the 15-min pre-recorded breath-based mindfulness bodyscan, and constructive worry, would decrease sleep-onset latency and pre-sleep arousal similarly over time, relative to the control condition. A significant interaction was observed among adolescents with prolonged sleep-onset latency, who completed ≥3 days for at least 1 week (p = .001), where mindfulness decreased sleep-onset latency relative to constructive worry and the control. Neither technique changed pre-sleep worry or cognitive-emotional arousal, or associated daytime functioning (both the whole sample and sub-sample). A pre-recorded mp3 breath-based mindfulness bodyscan technique is a promising means by which adolescents with prolonged sleep-onset latency can decrease sleep-onset latency. This simple tool has potential for scalable dissemination by stakeholders (e.g. teachers), unqualified to treat adolescent sleep difficulties. Future studies are needed to determine whether benefits may extend to academic performance and mental health, if performed for a longer time period with increased compliance.

A global optimisation approach to range-restricted survey calibration.

Survey calibration methods modify minimally sample weights to satisfy domain-level benchmark constraints (BC), e.g. census totals. This allows exploitation of auxiliary information to improve the representativeness of sample data (addressing coverage limitations, non-response) and the quality of sample-based estimates of population parameters. Calibration methods may fail with samples presenting small/zero counts for some benchmark groups or when range restrictions (RR), such as positivity, are imposed to avoid unrealistic or extreme weights. User-defined modifications of BC/RR performed after encountering non-convergence allow little control on the solution, and penalisation approaches modelling infeasibility may not guarantee convergence. Paradoxically, this has led to underuse in calibration of highly disaggregated information, when available. We present an always-convergent flexible two-step global optimisation (GO) survey calibration approach. The feasibility of the calibration problem is assessed, and automatically controlled minimum errors in BC or changes in RR are allowed to guarantee convergence in advance, while preserving the good properties of calibration estimators. Modelling alternatives under different scenarios using various error/change and distance measures are formulated and discussed. The GO approach is validated by calibrating the weights of the 2012 Health Survey for England to a fine age-gender-region cross-tabulation (378 counts) from the 2011 Census in England and Wales.

The short and long of adolescent sleep: the unique impact of day length.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Variation in day length is proposed to impact sleep, yet it is unknown whether this is above the influence of behavioural factors. Day length, sleep hygiene, and parent-set bedtime were simultaneously explored, to investigate the relative importance of each on adolescents' sleep. METHODS: An online survey was distributed in four countries at varying latitudes/longitudes (Australia, The Netherlands, Canada, Norway). RESULTS: Overall, 711 (242 male; age M = 15.7 ± 1.6, range = 12-19 yrs) adolescents contributed data. Hierarchical regression analyses showed good sleep hygiene was associated with earlier bedtime, shorter sleep latency, and longer sleep (ß = -0.34; -0.30; 0.32, p < 0.05, respectively). Shorter day length predicted later bedtime (ß = 0.11, p = 0.009), decreased sleep latency (ß = -0.21, p < 0.001), and total sleep (ß = -0.14, p = 0.001). Longer day length predicted earlier bedtimes (ß = -0.11, p = 0.004), and longer sleep (ß = 0.10, p = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS: Sleep hygiene had the most clinical relevance for improving sleep, thus should be considered when implementing adolescent sleep interventions, particularly as small negative effects of shorter day length may be minimised through sleep hygiene techniques.

Psychics, aliens, or experience? Using the Anomalistic Belief Scale to examine the relationship between type of belief and probabilistic reasoning.

A growing body of research has shown people who hold anomalistic (e.g., paranormal) beliefs may differ from nonbelievers in their propensity to make probabilistic reasoning errors. The current study explored the relationship between these beliefs and performance through the development of a new measure of anomalistic belief, called the Anomalistic Belief Scale (ABS). One key feature of the ABS is that it includes a balance of both experiential and theoretical belief items. Another aim of the study was to use the ABS to investigate the relationship between belief and probabilistic reasoning errors on conjunction fallacy tasks. As expected, results showed there was a relationship between anomalistic belief and propensity to commit the conjunction fallacy. Importantly, regression analyses on the factors that make up the ABS showed that the relationship between anomalistic belief and probabilistic reasoning occurred only for beliefs about having experienced anomalistic phenomena, and not for theoretical anomalistic beliefs.