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An important element of well-being during the transition to parenthood is new parents' relationships with their partners and babies. Attachment theory posits that early caregiving experiences influence close relationships throughout the lifespan. Disruptions to the parent-child relationship, such as parental divorce or separation, may therefore have intergenerational effects as adult children of divorce navigate changes in their later relationships. This study examined whether new parents who have experienced a divorce or separation in their family of origin report greater romantic relationship dissatisfaction or impairment in the parent-infant bond during the early postpartum period, and if these associations are mediated by adult attachment. First-time parents of infants through 6 months of age (N = 94) completed measures of adult attachment, romantic relationship satisfaction, and parent-infant bonding. New parents who had experienced parental divorce or separation did not differ from those from intact families with regard to romantic relationship satisfaction, parent-infant bonding, attachment anxiety, or attachment avoidance. Attachment anxiety and avoidance were both associated with romantic relationship dissatisfaction and greater impairment in the parent-infant bond. These findings suggest that the experience of parental divorce or separation, in and of itself, does not confer increased risk for negative relational outcomes among new parents. Securely attached adults, regardless of their own parents' marital status, report more positive relationships with their partners and infants during the early postpartum period.

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The purpose of this study was to observe the effectiveness of intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) on reducing C-reactive protein (CRP) and DOMS after long distance running. Ten distance runners, five males and five females, ages 20-53 years performed two 20-mile runs at 70% VO2 max. Each run was followed by either no treatment (control) or IPC treatment for five consecutive days. For the IPC run, participants were treated for one hour immediately following the run and daily for five more days thereafter. On control runs, participants did not receive any treatment. Serum CRP was measured pre- and post-run, and daily thereafter for five days for both trials. Results indicated no significant difference (p > 0.05) between control and treatment runs in CRP levels. Subjective pain ratings indicated no significant difference in pain between control and treatment runs. In conclusion, there appear to be no substantial benefits of IPC in promoting recovery.

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BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of suspension training on functional movement and body composition, and to compare the effectiveness of home-based training to supervised training. METHODS: Seventeen healthy subjects (8 males, 9 females, age=21.8±3.4 y) with no recent history of resistance training were randomly assigned to a home-based or supervised training group. Subjects performed an 8-week suspension training program consisting of 10 exercises targeting major muscle groups, twice per week for the duration of the study. Pre- and post-intervention testing included body composition using air displacement plethysmography, and a functional movement screen (FMS) to measure functional movement abilities. RESULTS: The 8-week training program significantly improved total FMS scores across the whole sample of subjects (Pre=16.4; Post=17.5; P=0.004), with no differences in improvements between groups. When compared separately, only the supervised group significantly improved FMS scores. There was also a significant increase in lean mass across the total sample of subjects (Pre=52.4 kg; Post=53.3 kg; P=0.03) with no differences between groups. But when compared independently, neither group exhibited a significant increase in lean mass. CONCLUSIONS: When completed as a whole-body exercise program over an 8-week period, suspension training can improve functional ability and increase lean mass in both a supervised and a home-based setting.

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The authors tested the hypothesis that there is a correlation between hemispheric cognitive style and ear temperature. A sample of 100 participants completed a measure of hemispheric cognitive style, the Hemispheric Consensus Prediction Profile. Ear temperatures were taken in 2 sessions, 2 times for each ear at each session. Average left ear temperature was subtracted from average right ear temperature as an index of dominant temperature. Only 56 of the participants showed a stable dominant ear temperature. For these 56 participants, there was a statistically significant positive correlation between scores on the Hemispheric Consensus Prediction Profile and tympanic member temperature (Spearman's  ρ =.29, 95% CI [.04,.51]). Individuals with a left hemispheric cognitive style tended to have a warmer left tympanic membrane temperature while those with a right hemispheric cognitive style tended to have a warmer right tympanic membrane temperature. Tympanic membrane temperatures are easily obtained using inexpensive and noninvasive technology. The relationship suggested by these findings may open new opportunities for the study of cerebral asymmetry.

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Water level monitoring provides essential information about the condition of aquifers and their responses to water extraction, land-use change, and climatic variability. It is important to have a spatially distributed, long-term monitoring well network for sustainable groundwater resource management. Community-based monitoring involving citizen scientists provides an approach to complement existing government-run monitoring programs. This article demonstrates the feasibility of establishing a large-scale water level monitoring network of private water supply wells using an example from Rocky View County (3900 km(2) ) in Alberta, Canada. In this network, community volunteers measure the water level in their wells, and enter these data through a web-based data portal, which allows the public to view and download these data. The close collaboration among the university researchers, county staff members, and community volunteers enabled the successful implementation and operation of the network for a 5-year pilot period, which generated valuable data sets. The monitoring program was accompanied by education and outreach programs, in which the educational materials on groundwater were developed in collaboration with science teachers from local schools. The methodology used in this study can be easily adopted by other municipalities and watershed stewardship groups interested in groundwater monitoring. As governments are starting to rely increasingly on local municipalities and conservation authorities for watershed management and planning, community-based groundwater monitoring provides an effective and affordable tool for sustainable water resources management.

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Traditional computer videogames are sedentary, whereas new computer videogames, such as the Nintendo(®) (Redmond, WA) "Wii™ Sports" games, allow users to physically interact while playing the sport. Energy expenditure (EE), heart rate (HR), and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) during heavy bag boxing versus the Nintendo "Wii Boxing" game were compared. Fifteen males and 14 females (mean age, 25.6 years; height, 171.3 cm; weight, 71.8 kg) randomly selected (by a coin toss) heavy bag boxing or "Wii Boxing" for their first test session and completed the other protocol at their second session at least 2 days later. Each session lasted for a total duration of 30 minutes and consisted of 10 3-minute exercise bouts with measurements of HR, RPE, and EE obtained from indirect calorimetry. A paired-samples t test was used to analyze the results. Significant differences were found for HR (bag, 156 beats per minute; Wii, 138 beats per minute; P=0.001) and RPE (bag, 13.8; Wii, 11.4; P=0.0001) but not for EE (bag, 8.0 kcal/minute; Wii, 7.1 kcal/minute; bag, 241 total kcal; Wii, 213 total kcal; P=0.078). The results suggest that computer active videogames, such as the Nintendo Wii, have the potential to provide similar EE as their traditional forms of exercise and may be a sufficient replacement for traditional target HR zone activities, especially in less fit individuals. Further research is needed to compare EE for different "Wii Sports" games with those for their traditional forms of exercise.

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The purpose of this study was to test for a relationship between mesomorphy and experiential cognitive style (S. Epstein, 1994) in a sample of university students (30 women and 24 men). Anthropometric somatotypes were obtained using the Heath-Carter procedure (J. E. L. Carter, 2002). Experiential cognitive style was operationalized as scores on the experiential scale of the Rational Experiential Inventory for Adolescents (A. D. Marks, D. W. Hine, R. L. Blore, & W. J. Phillips, 2008). Nonparametric bootstrap correlations were calculated using 80% confidence intervals. There were significant correlations between mesomorphy and experiential cognitive style for men (r(s) = .33) and women (r(s) = .25). For men, experiential cognitive style was also correlated with endomorphy (r(s) = .39) and ectomorphy (rs = -.48).

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OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to test the null hypotheses that neither weight-bearing exercise nor fetoplacental growth has a short- or long-term effect on the maternal serum erythropoietin level. STUDY DESIGN: Serial blood samples were obtained before and after exercise from seven women who exercised regularly and seven physically active controls before pregnancy and at 8, 16, 24, 32, and 38 weeks' gestation. Fetoplacental growth was assessed both in midpregnancy (ultrasound) and at birth (morphometry). RESULTS: Maternal serum erythropoietin levels rose with advancing gestation in both groups. Individual patterns, however, were quite variable and not related to differences in fetoplacental growth. There were no significant between-group differences at any time point, but levels rose after exercise in mid and late pregnancy. CONCLUSION: The highly variable, pregnancy-associated changes in maternal serum erythropoietin were unrelated to variability in fetoplacental growth or maternal hematocrit. Absolute levels of erythropoietin are not influenced by regular exercise before or during pregnancy, but small acute elevations are seen after exercise in mid and late pregnancy.

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To test the hypothesis that the sum (∑) of five skinfold thicknesses in the immediate postpartum period is significantly less than that obtained in the last month of pregnancy in healthy American women, a standardized approach was used to measure skinfold thicknesses at five sites in 81 healthy, active women. Measures were obtained in the last month of pregnancy and again in the first month postpartum. Prior to pregnancy the subjects ranged in age from 24-39 years and weighed between 45-87 kg. The ∑ of five skinfold thicknesses ranged between 34 and 162 mm. During pregnancy, weight gain ranged between 6.5-24.6 kg with a mean gain of 14.5 kg. The ∑ of five skinfold thicknesses peaked between 8-36 weeks gestation and the peak increase ranged from -19 mm to +63 mm above preconceptual levels. In late pregnancy, the ∑ of five skinfold thicknesses ranged between 34.1 and 166.8 mm (mean = 91.7 mm), and postpartum, the range and mean values were similar (38.1-156.4 mm, and 91.8 mm). When values obtained in late pregnancy are compared with those obtained postpartum, the r2 value was 0.9122. There was also good correlation at each of the skinfold sites (r2 's = 0.8001-0.9239), except the abdomen (r2 = 0.6049). In conclusion, the hypothesis is incorrect; the ∑ of five skinfold thicknesses in the immediate postpartum period is as acceptable a measure of late pregnancy subcutaneous fat deposition and/or retention as that obtained in the last month of pregnancy in present day healthy American women. Am. J Hum. Biol. 10:299-305, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.