Objective Risk beliefs are central to most theories of health behavior, yet many unanswered questions remain about an increasingly studied risk construct, anticipated regret. We sought to better understand anticipated regret’s role in motivating health behaviors. Methods We systematically searched electronic databases for studies of anticipated regret and behavioral intentions or health behavior. We used random effects meta-analysis to synthesize effect sizes from 81 studies (n=45,618). Results Anticipated regret was associated with both intentions (r+= .50, p<.001) and health behavior (r+= .29, p<.001). Greater anticipated regret from engaging in a behavior (i.e., action regret) predicted weaker intentions and behavior, while greater anticipated regret from not engaging in a behavior (i.e., inaction regret) predicted stronger intentions and behavior. Anticipated action regret had smaller associations with behavioral intentions related to less severe and more distal hazards, but these moderation findings were not present for inaction regret. Anticipated regret generally was a stronger predictor of intentions and behavior than other anticipated negative emotions and risk appraisals. Conclusions Anticipated inaction regret has a stronger and more stable association with health behavior than previously thought. The field should give greater attention to understanding how anticipated regret differs from similar constructs, its role in health behavior theory, and its potential use in health behavior interventions.

In this paper, we first report a novel biosensor for the detection of paraoxon based on (CdSe)ZnS core-shell quantum dots (QDs) and an organophosphorus hydrolase (OPH) bioconjugate. The OPH was coupled to (CdSe)ZnS core-shell QDs through electrostatic interaction between negatively charged QDs surfaces and the positively charged protein side chain and ending groups (-NH2). Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy showed no significant change in the secondary structure of OPH after the bioconjugation, which indicates that the activity of OPH was preserved. Detectable secondary structure changes were observed by CD spectroscopy when the OPH/QDs bioconjugate was exposed to organophosphorus compounds such as paraoxon. Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopic study showed that the PL intensity of the OPH/QDs bioconjugate was quenched in the presence of paraoxon. The overall quenching percentage as a function of paraoxon concentration matched very well with the Michaelis-Menten equation. This result indicated that the quenching of PL intensity was caused by the conformational change in the enzyme, which is confirmed by CD measurements. The detection limit of paraoxon concentration using OPH/QDs bioconjugate was about 10(-8) M. Although increasing the OPH molar ratio in the bioconjugates will slightly increase the sensitivity of biosensor, no further increase of sensitivity was achieved when the molar ratio of OPH to QDs was greater than 20 because the surface of QDs was saturated by OPH. These properties make the OPH/QDs bioconjugate a promising biosensor for the detection of organophosphorus compounds.

A variety of crops, cultivars, and accessions have been evaluated over the past six years for superior capability to suppress weed growth. The most successful of these approaches has been to grow cover crops of rye (Secale cereale), wheat (Triticum aestivum), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), or barley (Hordeum vulgare) to a height of 40-50 cm, desiccate the crops by contact herbicides or freezing, and allow their residues to remain on the soil surface. Often, up to 95% control of important agroecosystem weed species was obtained for a 30- to 60-day period following desiccation of the cover crop. The plant residues on the soil surface exhibit numerous physical and chemical attributes that contribute to weed suppression. Physical aspects include shading and reduced soil temperatures which were similarly achieved using poplar (Populus) excelsior as a control mulch. Chemical aspects apparently include direct release of toxins, as well as production of phytotoxic microbial products. Numerous chemicals appear to work in concert or in an additive or synergistic manner to reduce weed germination and growth.

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A moderately halophilic bacterial isolate has been found to possess high levels of enzymatic activity against several highly toxic organophosphorus compounds. The predominant enzyme, designated organophosphorus acid anhydrase 2, has been purified 1,000-fold to homogeneity and characterized. The enzyme is a single polypeptide with a molecular weight of 60,000. With diisopropylfluorophosphate as a substrate, the enzyme has optimum activity at pH 8.5 and 50 degrees C, and it is stimulated by manganese and cobalt.

The aim of this study is to immobilize an enzyme, namely, organophosphorus hydrolase (OPH), and to detect the presence of paraoxon, which is an organophosphorus compound, using the layer-by-layer (LbL) deposition technique. To lift the OPH from the solid substrate, a pair of polyelectrolytes (positively charged chitosan (CS) and negatively charged poly(thiophene-3-acetic acid) (PTAA)) were combined. These species were made charged by altering the pH of the solutions. LbL involved alternate adsorption of the oppositely charged polyions from dilute aqueous solutions onto a hydrophilic quartz slide. This polyion cushion was held together by the electrostatic attraction between CS and PTAA. The growing process was monitored by fluorescence spectroscopy. OPH was then adsorbed onto the five-bilayer CS/PTAA system. This five-bilayer macromolecular structure compared to the solid substrate rendered stability to the enzyme by giving functional integrity in addition to the ability to react with paraoxon solutions. The ultimate goal is to use such a system to detect the presence of organophosphorus compounds with speed and sensitivity using the absorption and fluorescence detection methodologies.

Layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly has been utilized to fabricate an ultrathin film of polyelectrolytes. The architecture was composed of chitosan and organophosphorus hydrolase polycations along with thioglycolic acid-capped CdSe quantum dots (QDs) as the polyanion. The topography of the films was studied using epifluorescence microscopy imaging. The photoluminescence property of the functionalized QDs improved when sandwiched between the polycation layers. The enhanced optical property of QDs allowed easy monitoring of LbL growth and detection of paraoxon with high sensitivity. The presence of organophosphorus compounds was confirmed through UV-vis and emission spectroscopies.

Purpose Doctors commonly use genomic testing for breast cancer recurrence risk. We sought to assess whether the standard genomic report provided to doctors is a good approach for communicating results to patients. Methods During 2009–2010, we interviewed 133 patients with stages I or II, node-negative, hormone-receptor positive breast cancer and eligible for the Oncotype DX genomic test. In a randomized experiment, patients viewed 6 vignettes that presented hypothetical recurrence risk test results. Each vignette described a low, intermediate, or high chance of breast cancer recurrence in 10 years. Vignettes used one of five risk formats of increasing complexity that we derived from the standard report that accompanies the commercial assay or a sixth format that used an icon array. Results Among women who received the genomic recurrence risk test, 63% said their doctors showed them the standard report. The standard report format yielded among the most errors in identification of whether a result was low, intermediate or high risk (i.e., the gist of the results), while a newly developed risk continuum format yielded the fewest errors (17% vs. 5%; OR, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.10 to 0.52). For high-recurrence risk results presented in the standard format, women made errors 35% of the time. Women rated the standard report as one of the least understandable and least liked formats, but they rated the risk continuum format as among the most understandable and most liked. Results differed little by health literacy, numeracy, prior receipt of genomic test results during clinical care and actual genomic test results. Conclusion The standard genomic recurrence risk report was more difficult for women to understand and interpret than other formats. A less complex report, potentially including the risk continuum format, would be more effective in communicating test results to patients.