Life Style

This article compares and contrasts two methods of measuring consumer values: the List of Values (LOV) and Values and Life Style (VALS). LOV apparently has some advantages: it is in the public domain and it relates more closely to consumer behavior.

The predictive relationships among individual differences in self-reported physical health and activity life style and performance on an array of information processing and intellectual ability measures were examined. A sample of 484 men and women aged 55 to 86 years completed a battery of cognitive tasks measuring verbal processing time, working memory, vocabulary, verbal fluency, world knowledge, word recall, and text recall. Hierarchical regression was used to predict performance on these tasks from measures of self-reported physical health, alcohol and tobacco use, and level of participation in everyday activities. The results indicated: (a) individual differences in self-reported health and activity predicted performance on multiple cognitive measures; (b) self-reported health was more predictive of processing resource variables than knowledge-based abilities; (c) interaction effects indicated that participation in cognitively demanding activities was more highly related to performance on some measures for older adults than for middle-aged adults; and (d) age-related differences in performance on multiple measures were attenuated by partialing individual differences in self-reported health and activity.

In most fungal ascomycetes, mating is controlled by a single locus (MAT). Fungi requiring a partner to mate are heterothallic (self-sterile); those not requiring a partner are homothallic (self-fertile). Structural analyses of MAT sequences from homothallic and heterothallic Cochliobolus species support the hypothesis that heterothallism is ancestral. Homothallic species carry both MAT genes in a single nucleus, usually closely linked or fused, in contrast to heterothallic species, which have alternate MAT genes in different nuclei. The structural organization of MAT from all heterothallic species examined is highly conserved; in contrast, the organization of MAT in each homothallic species is unique. The mechanism of conversion from heterothallism to homothallism is a recombination event between islands of identity in otherwise dissimilar MAT sequences. Expression of a fused MAT gene from a homothallic species confers self-fertility on a MAT-null strain of a heterothallic species, suggesting that MAT alone is sufficient to change reproductive life style.

Abstract. Branched Glycerol Dialkyl Glycerol Tetraethers (GDGTs) are membrane spanning lipids synthesised by as yet unknown bacteria that thrive in soils and peat. In order to obtain more information on their ecological niche, the stable carbon isotopic composition of branched GDGT-derived alkanes, obtained upon ether bond cleavage, has been determined in a peat and various soils, i.e. forest, grassland and cropland, covered by various vegetation types, i.e., C3- vs. C4-plant type. These δ13C values are compared with those of bulk organic matter and higher plant derived n-alkanes from the same soils. With average δ13C values of −28‰, branched GDGTs in C3 soils are only slightly depleted (ca. 1‰) relative to bulk organic carbon and on average 8.5‰ enriched relative to plant wax-derived long-chain n-alkanes ( nC29–nC33). In an Australian soil dominantly covered with C4 type vegetation, the branched GDGTs have a δ13C value of −18‰, clearly higher than observed in soils with C3 type vegetation. As with C3 vegetated soils, branched GDGT δ13C values are slightly depleted (1‰) relative to bulk organic carbon and enriched (ca. 5‰) relative to n-alkanes in this soil. The δ13C values of branched GDGT lipids being similar to bulk organic carbon and their co-variation with those of bulk organic carbon and plant waxes, suggest a heterotrophic life style and assimilation of relatively heavy and likely labile substrates for the as yet unknown soil bacteria that synthesise the branched GDGT lipids. However, a chemoautotrophic lifestyle, i.e. consuming respired CO2, could not be fully excluded based on these data alone. Based on a natural labelling experiment of a C3/C4 crop change introduced on one of the soils 23 years before sampling and based on a free-air CO2 enrichment experiment with labelled CO2 on another soil, a turnover time of ca. 18 years has been estimated for branched GDGTs in these arable soils.

Are commercial bank card users more involved in community activities? Are male and female users interested in new trends? What role do charge cards play in the user's life style? What are the aspirations of card users? Life style research is utilized in this study to provide new insights into ways of marketing and advertising bank charge cards.

OBJECTIVE The authors examined trends in the prevalence of substance use and its relationship to attributes of life style among college students over a 30-year period. METHOD They distributed anonymous questionnaires to 796 seniors at a large New England college in 1999, using methods essentially identical to those of their previous studies at the same college in 1969, 1978, and 1989. RESULTS Most forms of drug use rose to a peak in 1978 then fell over the next 21 years, except for use of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine ("ecstasy"). On several variables, college substance users differed more sharply from nonusers in 1999 than in previous decades. CONCLUSIONS Although the study was limited to students at a single institution, its findings suggest that college drug use is generally declining and that users have increasingly diverged from nonusers in their values and life style.

To prevent "life style-related diseases", it is necessary to evaluate not only the factors directly related to sleep but also the relationship between sleep and other life style-related factors (such as smoking, alcohol drinking, food habits, and exercise routines). There have been no extensive studies conducted on these relationships. A survey was conducted on 2,000 employees of a large plant over a 6-year period to provide data that would allow one to analyze correlation between hours of sleep and other life style factors, such as smoking, alcohol drinking, dietary habit, and exercise. It focused on a serial evaluation, with special reference to the correlation between sleep and smoking and drinking habits, exercise, and food habits. In relation to smoking or an alcohol drinking habit, no significant correlation was found between those who did not get enough sleep and those who got adequate sleep. For the dietary habits, the group with insufficient hours of sleep was related to a less than satisfactory frequency of meal taking, irregularity of eating, snacking habits, excessive seasoning of food, and consumption of insufficient quantities of vegetables. Conversely, it was recognized that those who have satisfactory food habits are more likely to enjoy an appropriate amount of sleep. Those who fail to get sufficient sleep engage in food habits that are more likely to cause life style-related diseases.

OBJECTIVES In a previous report, we described the global analysis of the 'GAMIAN-Europe/BEAM survey' carried out in order to gain a better understanding of what is like to live with a bipolar disorder (BD). We report here on a cross-national analysis of unemployment, family history, side effects, treatment satisfaction and the impact the disorder had and has on patients' perception of life style and quality of life. METHODS The methodology has been described in the previous report [Morselli PL and Elgie R, J Bipolar Disord (2003) 5, 265]. The analysis was carried out on the data derived from eight countries (France, Italy, Holland, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Spain and Sweden) on a total of 968 respondents. Data from three other countries were not evaluated because of the low number of respondents. RESULTS The data suggest that the problems and difficulties encountered by bipolar patients are similar throughout the various European countries, regardless of the political, social or cultural settings. The disease leads to a very high rate of unemployment and has a significant negative impact on the perception of the quality of life, both within and outside the family. Data also indicate a high level of family history. Considering the many variables analysed in the different nations, trans-national differences are often present for a given specific issue. However, with regard to the core issues, no significantly different patterns appear to emerge for any given nation. The current attitude towards the disorder displays an increased insight about the condition on the part of patients. There is also a definite trend towards an improvement in their perception of the disease with an evident minor or reduced impact of the disorder on the life-style of patients. CONCLUSIONS Globally, the data indicate that in all participating countries there has been, in recent years, a consistent improvement in the 'perceived quality of life' of the 'informed patient' with an increased insight into the condition and an enhanced rate of compliance. Nevertheless, a lot still needs to be done to markedly improve the 'social functioning' and the 'social integration' of those who suffer from BD. The data reported underline some of the issues that still represent a truly onerous burden for BD patients in whichever European country they may live.

This paper examines the growing phenomenon offathers being primary parents due to widowhood, divorce, separation, or adoption. Changes in mortality rates, legal custody arrangements, and adoption procedures are analyzed as primaryfactors in altering the composition of single-parent fathers in the population. Interviews with 20 single-parent fathers consider the successes and strains they experience in childrearing, in using compensatory services, and in their own adult life style. Recommendations for supportive services and programs needed by these fathers are presented. Fatherhood is receiving increased attention in the popular and professional literature. This seemingly new discovery that

Abstract This review presents a comprehensive, evenhanded evaluation of the evidence from experimental, in vitro and human studies associating environmental and therapeutic factors with risk of colorectal cancer. Life styles correlated with the greatest increase in colorectal cancer risk are the ones that typify a diet rich in fat and calories, alcohol drinking and tobacco smoking, and low intake of vegetable, fruits and fibers, referred to as a “western diet,” as well as sedentary style (i.e., no- or low-exercise). This kind of life style has also been associated with other chronic diseases (other cancers, obesity, dyslipedemia, diabetes, hypertension cardiovascular, and hypertension). The evidence does not implicated red meat as a risk factor, and fiber has been shown to protect against colorectal adenomas and carcinomas. Calcium, vitamin D, folate, and some antioxidant vitamins and minerals (γ-tocopherol and selenium) have protective effects, and daily exercise for ≥30 min results in a significant decrease in risk. Estrogen use (hormone replacement therapy) substantially reduces colorectal cancer risk in postmenopausal women. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (e.g., aspirin) in excessive doses is protective, especially in high risk populations, but the side effects of its use and cost incurred due to its continued intake over long periods must be carefully scrutinized before any recommendations are made for the general public.