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Objectives: Christian Orthodox fasting (COF), a periodical vegetarian subset of the Mediterranean diet, has been proven to exert beneficial effects on human health. Athonian fasting is a pescetarian COF variation, where red meat is strictly restricted throughout the year. Previous studies have examined the COF nutritional synthesis and health effects in general population fasters (GF) and Athonian monks (AM), separately. The aim of this study is to comparatively evaluate the characteristics and effects of this nutritional advocacy between the two populations., Methods: The study included 43 male GFs (20-45 y of age) and 57 age-matched male AMs following COF. Dietary intake data were collected in both groups during a restrictive (RD) and a nonrestrictive (NRD) day. Nutritional, cardiometabolic, and anthropometric parameters were compared between the two cohorts., Results: AM presented lower daily total caloric intake for both RD (1362.42 ± 84.52 versus 1575.47 ± 285.96 kcal, P < 0.001) and NRD (1571.55 ± 81.07 versus 2137.80 ± 470.84 kcal, P < 0.001) than GF.They also demonstrated lower body mass index (23.77 ± 3.91 versus 28.92 ± 4.50 kg/m 2 , P <0.001), body fat mass (14.57 ± 8.98 versus 24.61 ± 11.18 kg, P = 0.001), and homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance values (0.98 ± 0.72 versus 2.67 ± 2.19 mmol/L, P < .001) than GF. Secondary hyperparathyroidism (parathyroid hormone concentrations: 116.08 ± 49.74 pg/mL), as a result of profound hypovitaminosis D [25(OH)D: 9.27 ± 5.81 ng/mL], was evident in the AM group., Conclusions: The results of the present study highlight the unique characteristics of Athonian fasting and its value as a health-promoting diet. The effects of limitation of specific vitamins and minerals during fasting warrants further investigation., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: 2,4-Dinitrophenol (2,4-DNP) is an effective but highly dangerous fat burner, not licensed for human consumption. Death cases reported for 2,4-DNP overdose, particularly among young adults, have raised concerns about the ineffective regulatory control, lack of education and risks associated with impurity, and the unknown concentration of 2,4-DNP purchased on the Internet., Methods: Using a sequential mixed method design and based on a hypothetical scenario as if 2,4-DNP was a licensed pharmaceutical drug, first we conducted a qualitative study to explore what product attributes people consider when buying a weight-loss aid. Focus group interviews with six females and three males (mean age = 21.6 ± 1.8 years) were audiorecorded, transcribed verbatim, and subjected to thematic analysis. Sixteen attributes were identified for the Best-Worst Scale (BWS) in the quantitative survey with 106 participants (64% female, mean age = 27.1 ± 11.9 years), focusing on 2,4-DNP. Demographics, weight satisfaction, and risk for eating disorder data were collected., Results: In contrast to experienced users such as bodybuilders, our study participants approached 2,4-DNP cautiously. Attributes of 2,4-DNP as a hypothetical weight-loss drug comprised a range of desirable and avoidable features. Of the 16 selected attributes, BWS suggested that long-term side effects were the most and branding was the least important attribute. Effectiveness and short-term side effects were also essential. Those in the >25 year group showed least concerns for legality. Neutral BWS scores for cost, treatment, degree of lifestyle changes required, and specificity required for the hypothetical weight-loss drug to be effective were likely caused by disagreement about their importance among the participants, not indifference., Conclusion: With advances in research, 2,4-DNP as a pharmaceutical drug in the future for treating neurodegenerative diseases and potentially for weight loss is not inconceivable. Caution is warranted for interpreting the BWS scores. Owing to the difference in what data represent at individual vs. population levels, with pooled data, the method correctly identifies attributes by which most people are satisfied but misrepresents attributes that are individually very important but not universally agreed. Whilst this may be an advantage in marketing applications, it limits the utility of BWS as a research tool.

In sport, a wide array of substances with established or putative performance-enhancing properties is used. Most substances are fully acceptable, whilst a defined set, revised annually, is prohibited; thus, using any of these prohibited substances is declared as cheating. In the increasingly tolerant culture of pharmacological and technical human enhancements, the traditional normative approach to anti-doping, which involves telling athletes what they cannot do to improve their athletic ability and performance, diverges from the otherwise positive values attached to human improvement and enhancement in society. Today, doping is the epitome of conflicting normative expectations about the goal (performance enhancement) and the means by which the goal is achieved (use of drugs). Owing to this moral-functional duality, addressing motivations for doping avoidance at the community level is necessary, but not sufficient, for effective doping prevention. Relevant and meaningful anti-doping must also recognise and respect the values of those affected, and consolidate them with the values underpinning structural, community level anti-doping. Effective anti-doping efforts are pragmatic, positive, preventive, and proactive. They acknowledge the progressive nature of how a "performance mindset" forms in parallel with the career transition to elite level, encompasses all levels and abilities, and directly addresses the reasons behind doping use with tangible solutions. For genuine integration into sport and society, anti-doping should consistently engage athletes and other stakeholders in developing positive preventive strategies to ensure that anti-doping education not only focuses on the intrinsic values associated with the spirit of sport but also recognises the values attached to performance enhancement, addresses the pressures athletes are under, and meets their needs for practical solutions to avoid doping. Organisations involved in anti- doping should avoid the image of "controlling" but, instead, work in partnerships with all stakeholders to involve and ensure integration of the targeted individuals in global community-based preventive interventions., (© 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

The non-medical use of prescription medication for the pursuit of increasing cognitive and intellectual capacities (defined neuroenhancement) has received growing attention from the scientific community and policymakers alike. To date, limited qualitative data exist exploring the nature of the phenomenon, especially as a potentially emerging trend among university students in England. Existing American literature suggests that students believe that neuroenhancement helps the individual to maximize his/her time, consenting a suitable balance between work and leisure. Students' motivation to experiment with neuroenhancement appears to be more in line with a need to regulate emotions surrounding study/work settings than to actually improve cognitive abilities beyond normal levels. This study aimed to qualitatively explore representations, motivations, beliefs, and consumption styles of a cohort of university student users residing in England. Through snowball sampling, 13 informants were contacted and interviewed regarding their experience with neuroenhancers. Narrations were analyzed and interpreted using qualitative analysis software and Grounded Theory methodology. Participants belonged to a broad variety of university courses and were predominantly habitual consumers of modafinil. Neuroenhancers were acquired either through friends or via the Internet. Motivations regarded the need to "catch up" and be on par with high achieving students. The entire cohort had previously experimented with other psychotropic substances. Synthetic compounds in particular were believed to be "gateway" drugs to using neuroenhancers. Experimentation with neuroenhancement can be seen as a self-governing strategy aimed at achieving continued focused productivity. Participants acknowledged sustainable benefits in neuroenhancement as it optimized work performance. The majority of the cohort also contemplated the possibility of using these drugs in the future once they entered the workforce. Neuroenhancing drug users expressed "situated morality," differentiating between using these substances for assessments (exams) or during revisions, finding only the former as an immoral conduct. In the present scenario, it appears that neuroenhancement is practiced by small numbers of students. Nonetheless, the instrumental views of psychotropic substances held by many young adults and the globalization of these practices make the normalization of neuroenhancement a plausible possibility of the future.

One of the fundamental challenges in anti-doping is identifying athletes who use, or are at risk of using, prohibited performance enhancing substances. The growing trend to employ a forensic approach to doping control aims to integrate information from social sciences (e.g., psychology of doping) into organised intelligence to protect clean sport. Beyond the foreseeable consequences of a positive identification as a doping user, this task is further complicated by the discrepancy between what constitutes a doping offence in the World Anti-Doping Code and operationalized in doping research. Whilst psychology plays an important role in developing our understanding of doping behaviour in order to inform intervention and prevention, its contribution to the array of doping diagnostic tools is still in its infancy. In both research and forensic settings, we must acknowledge that (1) socially desirable responding confounds self-reported psychometric test results and (2) that the cognitive complexity surrounding test performance means that the response-time based measures and the lie detector tests for revealing concealed life-events (e.g., doping use) are prone to produce false or non-interpretable outcomes in field settings. Differences in social-cognitive characteristics of doping behaviour that are tested at group level (doping users vs. non-users) cannot be extrapolated to individuals; nor these psychometric measures used for individual diagnostics. In this paper, we present a position statement calling for policy guidance on appropriate use of psychometric assessments in the pursuit of clean sport. We argue that, to date, both self-reported and response-time based psychometric tests for doping have been designed, tested and validated to explore how athletes feel and think about doping in order to develop a better understanding of doping behaviour, not to establish evidence for doping. A false 'positive' psychological profile for doping affects not only the individual 'clean' athlete but also their entourage, their organisation and sport itself. The proposed policy guidance aims to protect the global athletic community against social, ethical and legal consequences from potential misuse of psychological tests, including erroneous or incompetent applications as forensic diagnostic tools in both practice and research., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: 2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) poses serious health-risks to humans. The aims of this three-stage multidisciplinary project were, for the first time, to assess the risks to the general public from fraudulent sale of or adulteration/contamination with DNP; and to investigate motives, reasons and risk-management among DNP-user bodybuilders and avid exercisers., Methods: Using multiple search-engines and guidance for Internet research, online retailers and bodybuilding forums/blogs were systematically explored for availability of DNP, advice offered on DNP use and user profiles. Ninety-eight pre-workout and weight-loss supplements were purchased and analysed for DNP using liquid-chromatography-mass-spectrometry. Psychosocial variables were captured in an international sample of 35 DNP users (26.06 ± 6.10 years, 94.3 % male) with an anonymous, semi-qualitative self-reported survey., Results: Although an industrial chemical, evidence from the Internet showed that DNP is sold 'as is', in capsules or tablets to suit human consumption, and is used 'uncut'. Analytical results confirmed that DNP is not on the supplement market disguised under fictitious supplement names, but infrequently was present as contaminant in some supplements (14/98) at low concentration (<100mcg/kg). Users make conscious and 'informed' decisions about DNP; are well-prepared for the side-effects and show nonchalant attitude toward self-experimentation with DNP. Steps are often taken to ensure that DNP is genuine. Personal experience with performance- and appearance enhancing substances appears to be a gateway to DNP. Advice on DNP and experiences are shared online. The significant discrepancy between the normative perception and the actual visibility suggests that DNP use is-contrary to the Internet accounts-a highly concealed and lonesome activity in real life. Positive experiences with the expected weight-loss prevail over the negative experiences from side effects (all but two users considered using DNP again) and help with using DNP safely is considered preferable over scare-tactics., Conclusion: Legislation banning DNP sale for human consumption protects the general public but DNP is sold 'as is' and used 'uncut' by determined users who are not dissuaded from experimenting with DNP based on health threats. Further research with stakeholders' active participation is imperative for targeted, proactive public health policies and harm-reduction measures for DNP, and other illicit supplements.

The aim of this study was to incorporate implicit measures of relevant social cognition into eating disorder research. Fifty-three females diagnosed with an eating disorder (ED), and 41 at-risk females were recruited via ED support websites, along with 23 healthy females for comparison. Computerised online tests assessing subconscious normative ideal body image (IBI-BIAT) and personalised self-identification body image (PBI-BIAT) associations and food preferences (FP-AAT) were administered, followed by the modified version of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q). Anthropometric data, age, need for social approval, self-reported measures of self-esteem, normative perception and body image satisfaction were recorded. Self-reported diagnosed ED status was corroborated with BMI and EDE-Q. Diagnostic performance of the implicit measures was assessed with ROC analysis. Those diagnosed with ED showed significantly stronger automatic preferences for and self-identification with thin body image, compared to healthy females, but no differences were found in food preferences. The IBI-BIAT showed better diagnostic power than PBI-BIAT, correctly classifying 87% of the diagnosed participants. No correlation was found between IBI-BIAT and the explicit measures. The results suggest that the underlying subconscious social cognitive factors of pathological eating are linked to body image, not to food items per se., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The autobiographical Implicit Association Test (aIAT) is a variant of the Implicit Association Test reportedly capable of detecting an individual's concealed autobiographical event with very high accuracy. A previous attempt to utilize this measurement technique for the identification of cocaine users rendered an alarming rate of false positives. In this study, we aimed to explore the potential reasons behind the measurement's inaccuracy., Methods: Two versions of the cocaine aIAT were devised with different category labels (descriptive 'guilty/innocent' and self-referenced 'as if you were/were not'). Forty-one cocaine abstinent participants (43.9% male; mean age = 28.17 ± 7.36) were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions. Self-declared cocaine abstinence was confirmed for the 12-month period preceding data collection through hair analysis. Participants were also administered bespoke implicit and explicit cocaine user attitude measures, the self-esteem IAT and the Rosenberg self-esteem scale., Results: The category labels which elicited self-referenced knowledge showed low accuracy (19%) compared to the 65% of the 'guilty/innocent' labels proposed by original authors. The self-referenced aIAT version significantly correlated with the self-concept measures. The aIAT outcomes were independent from attitudes toward cocaine users., Conclusions: Category labels play an influential role in determining the test's accuracy, demonstrating that participants' propositional knowledge and self-concept are involved during test performance. The aIAT does not appear to tap directly into an individual's implicit memory when relevant memory is not available. Although the test cannot be recommended for detecting drug use, further research should investigate underlying mechanisms and other potentials of the technique., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

To enable preventive measures to be designed, it is important to identify modifiable distal and proximal factors underlying doping behavior. This study investigated aspects of the prototype willingness model in relation to doping. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 729 competitive athletes. Following ethical approval, athletes (mean age = 28.8 ± 10.1 years; 63% male) completed an online questionnaire, which assessed doping-related attitudes, norms, prototype perceptions, outcome expectancies, and behavioral willingness. Using hierarchical multiple regression analysis, 54.4% of the total variance in willingness to dope was explained. Specifically, past doping, attitudes, and favorability of performance enhancing substance user prototypes were the strongest unique predictors of willingness to dope. Athletes appeared most willing to dope if they were to suffer an injury, a dip in performance, or think others are doping and getting away with it. National-level athletes displayed significantly greater willingness to dope (Kruskal-Wallis γ2 = 35.9, P < 0.001) and perceived themselves as significantly more similar to a doper (Kruskal-Wallis γ2 = 13.4, P = 0.004) than athletes competing at any other level. The findings highlight the importance of extending anti-doping provision beyond elite-level sport and the need to target athletes' doping-related perceptions.

Prevalence estimation models, using randomized or fuzzy responses, provide protection against exposure to respondents beyond anonymity and represent a useful research tool in socially sensitive situations. However, both guilty and innocent noncompliance can have a profound impact on prevalence estimations derived from these models. In this article, we introduce the maximum-likelihood extension of the single sample count (SSC-MLE) estimation model to detect and attribute noncompliance through testing 5 competing hypotheses on possible ways of noncompliance. We demonstrate the ability of the SSC-MLE to estimate and attribute noncompliance with a single sample using the observed distribution of affirmative answers on recent recreational drug use from a sample of university students (N = 1,441). Based on the survey answers, the drug use prevalence was estimated at 17.62% (± 6.75%), which is in line with relevant drug use statistics. Only 2.51% (± 1.54%) were noncompliant, of which 0.55% (± 0.44%) was attributed to guilty noncompliance (i.e., have used drugs but did not admit) and 2.17% (± 1.44%) to innocent noncompliers with no drug use in the past 3 months to hide. The SSC-MLE indirect estimation method represents an important tool for estimating the prevalence of a broad range of socially sensitive behaviors. Subsequent applications of the SSC-MLE to a range of transgressive behaviors with varying sensitivity will contribute to establishing the SSC-MLE's performance properties, along with obtaining empirical evidence to test the underlying assumption of independence of noncompliance from involvement. Freely downloadable, user-friendly software to facilitate applications of the SSC-MLE model is provided., (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.)

Background: The autobiographical Implicit Association Test (aIAT) is a novel application of the implicit association concept for detecting life events. It has been used to reveal concealed knowledge in clinical and forensic settings, including detecting drug use. In this study, we aimed to explore the functionality of the aIAT to identify drug use in real-world settings., Methods: The study used mixed methodology with known groups of drug users and nonusers. Recreational cocaine users (n = 23) and non-users (n = 23) were recruited through ethnographic methodology and assessed using a bespoke brief aIAT for cocaine use. An identical aIAT test for heroin detection was also administered to a sub-sample of 10 cocaine users and 13 nonusers. The accuracy of the cocaine aIAT was measured through ROC analysis. Paradoxical aIAT results were explored by integrating craving, consumption measures and life-story interviews into the analysis., Results: Whilst the two brief aIATs showed good concurrent validity for cocaine users by accurately detecting drug using status for 18 of the 23 users (78.3%), the test falsely reported 61% cocaine users in the non-user comparison group. The average D-scores were 0.257±0.246 for the cocaine users and 0.134±0.367 for the non-users, showing no discriminatory power (t(44) = 1.339, p = 0.187; AUC = 0.605, p = 0.223). Results were independent from craving and recent cocaine use. The comparison group's cocaine and heroin aIAT scores correlated significantly (r(13) = 0.776, p = 0.002) whilst an accurate absence of such relationship was evidenced in the cocaine using sample (r(10) = 0.061, p = 0.866). Triangulation with life-story interviews suggests that in the absence of an autobiographical event, this test may measure an alternative cognitive construct linked to the Self-concept., Conclusion: The aIAT is a variant of an attitude measure and can be better rationalized if propositional thinking is implied to explain outcomes. The Relational Frame and Social Knowledge Structure theories can perhaps provide a more plausible theoretical background. Further work is required to clarify which factors underlie this testing technique's functioning. Reappraisal is advised before further forensic use of the instrument to ensure that general associations not related to autobiographical memory do not confound results.

Previous reports demonstrated wide variations in contributions by EU Member States (MS) to the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) especially for border notifications, emphasising that MS with major entry points play a vital role in ensuring that EU food imports meet EU standards. To further explore the variation this paper aimed to examine notification practices among MS by comparing the levels of detection as a function of the total food imported and population. RASFF notifications issued between 2003 and 2007 were analysed using descriptive statistics and network analysis for differences in notification practice between MS. Major variations in contributions to the RASFF database were observed, which did not correlate with MS size or population. For the key contrast of ratio: 'border: non-border notifications', variations between 7%:89% were observed for the average monthly contributions and, import tonnage per border notification revealed up to 129-fold differences between MS. In conclusion, wide variations in food safety practice exist between MS, including both number and type of contributions to the RASFF database, with some MS being relatively highly active in the key class of border notifications. These findings should inform EU food safety enforcement policies and practices; and central resource allocations., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Nutritional supplement (NS) use is widespread in sport. This study applied an integrated social cognitive approach to examine doping attitudes, beliefs, and self-reported doping use behavior across NS users (n = 96) and nonusers (n = 116). Following ethical approval, 212 competitive athletes (age mean = 21.4, s = 4.5; 137 males) completed self-reported measures of doping-related social cognitions and behaviors, presented in an online format where completion implied consent. Significantly more NS users (22.9%) reported doping compared with nonusers (6.0%; U = 4628.0, P < 0.05). NS users presented significantly more positive attitudes toward doping (U = 3152.0, P < 0.05) and expressed a significantly greater belief that doping is effective (U = 3152.0, P < 0.05). When presented with the scenario that performance-enhancing substances are effective and increase the possibility of winning, NS users were significantly more in favor of competing in situations that allow doping (U = 3504.5, P < 0.05). In sum, doping use is three-and-a-half times more prevalent in NS users compared with nonusers. This finding is accompanied by significant differences in doping attitudes, norms, and beliefs. Thus, this article offers support for the gateway hypothesis; athletes who engage in legal performance enhancement practices appear to embody an "at-risk" group for transition toward doping. Education should be appropriately targeted., (© 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.)

Background: Anabolic androgenic steroids, such as stanozolol, are typically misused by athletes during preparation for competition. Out-of-competition testing presents a unique challenge in the current anti-doping detection system owing to logistic reasons. Analysing hair for the presence of a prohibited drug offers a feasible solution for covering the wider window in out-of-competition testing. To assist in vivo studies aiming to establish a relationship between drug levels detected in hair, urine and blood, sensitive methods for the determination of stanozolol and its major metabolite 3'-hydroxystanozolol were developed in pigmented hair, urine and serum, using brown Norway rats as a model system and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)., Results: For method development, spiked drug free rat hair, blood and urine samples were used. The newly developed method was then applied to hair, urine and serum samples from five brown Norway rats after treatment (intraperitoneal) with stanozolol for six consecutive days at 5.0 mg/kg/day. The assay for each matrix was linear within the quantification range with determination coefficient (r2) values above 0.995. The respective assay was capable of detecting 0.125 pg/mg stanozolol and 0.25 pg/mg 3'-hydroxystanozolol with 50 mg hair; 0.063 ng/mL stanozolol and 0.125 ng/mL 3'-hydroxystanozolol with 100 μL of urine or serum. The accuracy, precision and extraction recoveries of the assays were satisfactory for the detection of both compounds in all three matrices. The average concentrations of stanozolol and 3'-hydroxystanozolol, were as follows: hair = 70.18 ± 22.32 pg/mg and 13.01 ± 3.43 pg/mg; urine = 4.34 ± 6.54 ng/mL and 9.39 ± 7.42 ng/mL; serum = 7.75 ± 3.58 ng/mL and 7.16 ± 1.97 ng/mL, respectively., Conclusions: The developed methods are sensitive, specific and reproducible for the determination of stanozolol and 3'-hydroxystanozolol in rat hair, urine and serum. These methods can be used for in vivo studies further investigating stanozolol metabolism, but also could be extended for doping testing. Owing to the complementary nature of these tests, with urine and serum giving information on recent drug use and hair providing retrospective information on habitual use, it is suggested that blood or urine tests could accompany hair analysis and thus avoid false doping results.

There is evidence of a small but significant proportion of adolescents engaging in doping practices. Young athletes face very specific pressures to achieve results as they strive for a career at an elite level. This study used an anonymized questionnaire to survey 403 (12-21 years old) talented young athletes' attitudes toward performance-enhancing substances and supplements. Two-thirds of the sample comprised males. Athletes were generally against the use of doping substances to enhance sporting performance. Within this generally unfavorable view, males tended to express a more permissive attitude toward performance-enhancing methods than females. Those convinced of the necessity of supplementation for sporting success were also more likely to express permissive attitudes. When asked whether they would take a "magic" drug that, while undetectable, would significantly enhance performance, the overwhelming majority of athletes said "no," but many thought others would take the substance. Interestingly, there was a significant association between the projected use of the hypothetical drug by competitors and the individual respondent's willingness to take the hypothetically "magic" substance. The study offers an insight into young athletes' attitudes toward specific forms of performance enhancement, and the strength of their beliefs in the face of a tempting hypothetical scenario., (© 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.)

Efforts for drug free sport include developing a better understanding of the behavioural determinants that underline doping with an increased interest in developing anti-doping prevention and intervention programmes. Empirical testing of both is dominated by self-report questionnaires, which is the most widely used method in psychological assessments and sociology polls. Disturbingly, the potential distorting effect of socially desirable responding (SD) is seldom considered in doping research, or dismissed based on weak correlation between some SD measure and the variables of interest. The aim of this report is to draw attention to i) the potential distorting effect of SD and ii) the limitation of using correlation analysis between a SD measure and the individual measures. Models of doping opinion as a potentially contentious issue was tested using structural equation modeling technique (SEM) with and without the SD variable, on a dataset of 278 athletes, assessing the SD effect both at the i) indicator and ii) construct levels, as well as iii) testing SD as an independent variable affecting expressed doping opinion. Participants were categorised by their SD score into high- and low SD groups. Based on low correlation coefficients (<|0.22|) observed in the overall sample, SD effect on the indicator variables could be disregarded. Regression weights between predictors and the outcome variable varied between groups with high and low SD but despite the practically non-existing relationship between SD and predictors (<|0.11|) in the low SD group, both groups showed improved model fit with SD, independently. The results of this study clearly demonstrate the presence of SD effect and the inadequacy of the commonly used pairwise correlation to assess social desirability at model level. In the absence of direct observation of the target behaviour (i.e. doping use), evaluation of the effectiveness of future anti-doping campaign, along with empirical testing of refined doping behavioural models, will likely to continue to rely on self-reported information. Over and above controlling the effect of socially desirable responding in research that makes inferences based on self-reported information on social cognitive and behavioural measures, it is recommended that SD effect is appropriately assessed during data analysis.

The aims of this study are to explore metal contamination in food with respect to variations in: i) the levels found over a period of eleven months and/or ii) by food types; and iii) to report patterns in reporting between countries. The frequencies of reported cases of metal ion contamination were < or = 25% of total food alerts with notable increases between June and October. The alerted food products were dominated by seafood, where the majority were due to Mercury contamination and were made by EU member states with Italy making 57 of the 102 reports. The contaminated seafoods originate in thirty two countries with only Spain producing over 10 contaminated seafood products with a total of 47. In conclusion, this analysis highlights the main detector and transgressor nations along with the seafood and metal types that lead to alerts owing to high levels of contamination.

Background: Metal ions such as iron and copper are among the key nutrients that must be provided by dietary sources. Numerous foodstuffs have been evaluated for their contributions to the recommended daily allowance both to guide for satisfactory intake and also to prevent over exposure. In the case of heavy metal ions, the focus is often on exposure to potentially toxic levels of ions such as lead and mercury. The aim of this study is to determine target hazard quotients (THQ) from literature reports giving empirical levels of metal ions in table wines using the reference upper safe limit value. Contributions to the THQ value were calculated for seven metal ions along with total values for each wine., Results: The THQ values were determined as ranges from previously reported ranges of metal ion concentrations and were frequently concerningly high. Apart from the wines selected from Italy, Brazil and Argentina, all other wines exhibited THQ values significantly greater than one indicating levels of risk. The levels of vanadium, copper and manganese had the highest impact on THQ measures. Typical potential maximum THQ values ranged from 50 to 200 with Hungarian and Slovakian wines reaching 300. THQ values for a sample of red and white wines were high for both having values ranging from 30 to 80 for females based on a 250 mL glass per day., Conclusion: The THQ values calculated are concerning in that they are mainly above the safe level of THQ<1. It is notable that in the absence of upper safe limits, THQ values cannot be calculated for most metal ions, suggesting that further unaccountable risks are associated with intake of these wines.

This paper addressed a gap in the literature of empirically derived models of performance enhancing supplement use by developing a demographic and psychosocially based model of athlete supplement use. Selected questions were used from a larger survey conducted by UK Sport into British athletes' experiences, knowledge, attitudes and opinions in relation to anti-doping activities. Forward conditional step wise logistic regression was employed on data from n=757 athletes to develop a model that discriminated supplement non-users from users. The model identified that British athletes most likely to use supplements were younger (under 23) males who were more likely to see doping as a problem in their sport and were more knowledgeable about testing procedures than their non-user counterparts. Post hoc analysis reinforced that non-users saw doping as less of a problem in their sport and were less knowledgeable about drug testing procedures relative to those using supplements. The pattern of results indicated gender-specific interventions on supplement use for young male athletes may yield significant benefits. The relationship between supplement use and perception of a doping problem suggested more work is needed to understand supplement use culture within sports. The relationship between knowledge of testing procedures and supplement use suggested further research is needed to see whether this is a positive or negative effect of detection-based doping deterrence activity.