PURPOSE Intake of specific nutrients has been linked to mental states and various indices of cognitive performance although the effects are often subtle and difficult to interpret. Measurement of so-called objective variables (e.g. reaction times) is often considered to be the gold standard for assessing outcomes in this field of research. It can, however, be argued that data on subjective expe...

As a new development form for evaluating the regional water resources carrying capacity, forewarning regional water resources of their carrying capacities is an important adjustment and control measure for regional water security management. Up to now, most research on this issue have been qualitative analyses, with a lack of quantitative research. For this reason, an index system for forewarni...

Design consistency refers to the conformance of a highway's geometry with driver expectancy. Drivers make fewer errors in the vicinity of geometric features that conform with their expectations. Techniques to evaluate the consistency of a design documented within this report include alignment indices, speed distribution measures, and driver workload. Alignment indices are quantitative measures ...

INTRODUCTION The role of craving in nicotine dependence remains controversial and may be a function of measurement challenges. The current study used behavioral economic approach to test the hypotheses that subjective craving from acute withdrawal and exposure to tobacco cues dynamically increases the relative value of cigarettes. METHODS Using a 2 (1-hr/12-hr deprivation) × 2 (neutral/tobacc...

Serial assessments of neurocognitive functioning in athletes with concussion are commonly used for return to play decisions. This study provides reliable change indices (RCIs) for computerized tests from 40 NCAA Division I collegiate athletes that suffered a sports-related concussion. The normative data that resulted from the RCIs and subsequent analyses of differences between improved and not ...

The relationship between subjective invulnerability and optimism bias in risk appraisal, and their comparative association with indices of risk activity, substance use and college adjustment problems was assessed in a sample of 350 (M (age) = 20.17; 73% female; 93% White/European American) emerging adults. Subjective invulnerability was measured with the newly devised adolescent invulnerability...

We examined changes in rangeland health in the semi-arid woodlands of eastern Australia at fixed sites between 1989 and 1999. Over the 11-year period there were significant declines in the quality of the vegetation, and changes in plant species were driven largely by seasonality, and to a lesser extent, amount of rainfall. Three indices of rangelands health (composition, function and stability)...

Subjective age, or how young or old individuals experience themselves to be relative to their chronological age, is a crucial construct in gerontology. Subjective age is a significant predictor of important health outcomes, but little is known about the criteria by which individuals' subjectively evaluate their age. To identify psychosocial and biomedical factors linked to the subjective evalua...

This paper discusses meanings of intra-generational mobility when variables take values corresponding to either unordered or ordered categories. We propose concepts of maximum and minimum mobility, along with mobility-inducing transformations and related desirable properties. Then we axiomatically characterize indices of individual mobility and social mobility. Our first set of concepts, proper...

The present study compared simple thermal indices and the indices derived from energy budget models in the northwest of Iran. For this purpose, the air temperature, solar radiation, relative humidity, cloud, cover and wind speed of 13 meteorological stations in the northwest of Iran during the  the period of 1986 to 2007 were selected for comparison. The results which were extracted using Biokl...