OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to develop an index for oral hygiene behavior (OHB) and to examine potential predictors of this actual behavior based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Measures of oral health knowledge (OHK) and the expected effect of having healthy teeth on social relationships were included too.MATERIAL AND METHODS: Using an Internet questionnaire, 487 participants were asked about actual OHB, attitudes (ATT), social norms (SN), perceived behavioral control (PBC), OHK, and expected social outcomes (ESO). Based on a Delphi method involving oral health professionals, a new index for OHB was developed, including tooth brushing, interdental cleaning, and tongue cleaning.RESULTS: Regression analysis revealed that the TPB variables (ATT, SN, and PBC) and OHK explained 32.3% of the variance in self-reported OHB.CONCLUSION: The present findings indicate that socio-psychological consequences play a role in oral health care.
The hospitality industry contributes significantly to global climate change through its high resource consumption and emissions due to travel. As public pressure for hotels to develop sustainability initiatives to mitigate their footprint grows, a lack of understanding of green behavior and consumption of hotel guests hinders the adoption of effective programs. Most tourism research thus far has focused on the ecotourism segment, rather than the general population of travelers, and while research in consumer behavior shows that locus of control (LOC) and guilt can influence guests’ environmental behavior, those factors have not been tested with consideration of the subjective norm to measure their interaction and effect on recycling behavior. This study first examines the importance of internal and external LOC on factors for selecting hotel accommodation and the extent of agreement about hotel practices and, second, examines the differences in recycling behavior among guests with internal versus external LOC under levels of positive versus negative subjective norms and feelings of low versus high guilt.
MULTIFILE
Introduction: Hardly any research exists on the relationship between substance use and sexual behaviors in patients with a substance use disorder. This study aimed to examine this relation by looking into perceived positive effects on sexual behavior, perceived negative effects and risky sexual behavior due to substance use in patient groups of users of alcohol, stimulants, sedatives and Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB). In addition, the current study aimed to address the question whether sexual behavior (e.g. number of sexual partners, sexualactivity) differs between these patient groups.Method: A total of 180 patients with a substance use disorder (i.e. alcohol, amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine, GHB and opiates) participated. A self-report questionnaire was administered with questions on substance use,sexual behaviors (e.g. sexual activity, masturbation, use of pornography) and statements about the perceived changes in sexual functioning and behavior under influence of the primary substance of abuse.Results: All four groups reported changes in sexual thoughts, feelings and behavior due to the use of their primary substance. More than half of the patients reported enhancements in sexual domains (i.e. sexual pleasure,sexual arousal, sexual behavior), but also decrements or risky behaviors and about a quarter stated that their sexual thoughts, feelings and behaviors were often associated with the use of their primary substance of abuse.Patients with a GHB use disorder reported the strongest relation between drug use and sexual behavior. Users of HB not only reported more enhancement in several sexual domains, but also less decline in sexual domains compared to the other patient groups and more risky behavior or more sexual activity than some of the other groups of patients.Conclusions: The results underline the importance of addressing the relationship between substance use and sexual behavior in treatment programs, as patients may be hesitant to stop their use of substances when they experience many positive effects in their sexual behavior. Future research directions are suggested.
The main objective is to write a scientific paper in a peer-reviewed Open Access journal on the results of our feasibility study on increasing physical activity in home dwelling adults with chronic stroke. We feel this is important as this article aims to close a gap in the existing literature on behavioral interventions in physical therapy practice. Though our main target audience are other researchers, we feel clinical practice and current education on patients with stroke will benefit as well.
Currently, many novel innovative materials and manufacturing methods are developed in order to help businesses for improving their performance, developing new products, and also implement more sustainability into their current processes. For this purpose, additive manufacturing (AM) technology has been very successful in the fabrication of complex shape products, that cannot be manufactured by conventional approaches, and also using novel high-performance materials with more sustainable aspects. The application of bioplastics and biopolymers is growing fast in the 3D printing industry. Since they are good alternatives to petrochemical products that have negative impacts on environments, therefore, many research studies have been exploring and developing new biopolymers and 3D printing techniques for the fabrication of fully biobased products. In particular, 3D printing of smart biopolymers has attracted much attention due to the specific functionalities of the fabricated products. They have a unique ability to recover their original shape from a significant plastic deformation when a particular stimulus, like temperature, is applied. Therefore, the application of smart biopolymers in the 3D printing process gives an additional dimension (time) to this technology, called four-dimensional (4D) printing, and it highlights the promise for further development of 4D printing in the design and fabrication of smart structures and products. This performance in combination with specific complex designs, such as sandwich structures, allows the production of for example impact-resistant, stress-absorber panels, lightweight products for sporting goods, automotive, or many other applications. In this study, an experimental approach will be applied to fabricate a suitable biopolymer with a shape memory behavior and also investigate the impact of design and operational parameters on the functionality of 4D printed sandwich structures, especially, stress absorption rate and shape recovery behavior.
Chronische gewrichtsaandoeningen zijn veelvoorkomende aandoeningen waarmee patiënten bij de fysiotherapeut of oefentherapeut komen. Aandoeningen zoals artrose en reuma veroorzaken problemen in het dagelijks functioneren vanwege pijn en verminderde mobiliteit. Genezing is vaak niet mogelijk, maar het bevorderen van zelfmanagement kan verergering voorkomen. Oefentherapeuten en fysiotherapeuten spelen een centrale rol in het ondersteunen van zelfmanagement bij patiënten met gewrichtsaandoeningen. De inzet van online toepassingen, waaronder mobiele applicaties, en online platforms, die gericht zijn op het bevorderen van zelfmanagement (in dit voorstel gedefinieerd als Behavioral Intervention Technologies: BITs) kunnen patiënten met chronische gewrichtsaandoeningen ondersteunen. Echter, voor veel professionals is het onduidelijk hoe BITs kunnen worden ingezet om zelfmanagement te vergroten en hoe dit gecombineerd kan worden met fysieke begeleiding. Daarom onderzoeken we in dit tweejarige project de manier waarop oefen- en fysiotherapeuten coaching op zelfmanagement via BITs kunnen vormgeven. In werkpakket 1 brengen we met een review, observaties en een concept mapping in kaart welke elementen en randvoorwaarden van BITs belangrijk zijn voor het bevorderen van zelfmanagement. Zodra we inzicht hebben in deze elementen en randvoorwaarden wordt in co-creatie met stakeholders toegewerkt naar beroepsrollen en beroepscompetenties die voorwaardelijk zijn voor het gebruik van BITs. Met de input van deze onderzoeksactiviteiten ontwikkelen we samen met de doelgroep de AmSOS methodiek die professionals helpt bij het gebruik van BITs om zelfmanagement te bevorderen bij patiënten met chronische gewrichtsaandoeningen (WP2). Om te bepalen in hoeverre de methodiek bruikbaar is in de praktijk wordt in WP3 een haalbaarheidsstudie opgezet waarbij 25 eerstelijnsfysio- en/of oefentherapiepraktijken de AmSOS methodiek gaan gebruiken in de behandeling van patiënten met chronische gewrichtsaandoeningen. Omdat gewrichtsaandoeningen een substantieel onderdeel zijn van de curricula, maar tegelijkertijd weinig aandacht wordt besteed aan technologie en zelfmanagement, ontwikkelen we in WP4 een onderwijsmodule voor scholing van studenten en praktiserende oefen- en fysiotherapeuten.
