511 research outputs found
Longitudinal Associations Among Popularity, Likeability, and Drinking Across the Adolescent Transition: A Multivariate Latent Growth Curve Analysis
This study used latent growth curve modeling to examine associations between two forms of peer status and longitudinal drinking trajectories across the transition to high school. In a sample of 165 adolescents in Grade 8 at baseline, participants self-reported their alcohol use and provided sociometric nominations of peers' popularity and likeability, at three annual time points. Consistent with hypotheses, higher 8th grade popularity was associated with higher baseline drinking and with increased drinking trajectories from 8th to 10th grade. However, contrary to hypotheses, lower baseline likeability predicted increased concurrent and longitudinal drinking. These findings underscore the importance of studying the risk behavior correlates of these two distinct peer status constructs. Additionally, results suggest the value in considering preventive interventions that target popular youth; these adolescents may be at higher risk for alcohol use and also may be in a unique position to influence the attitudes and behaviors of their peers.Master of Art
Jet-disturbed molecular gas near the Seyfert 2 nucleus in M51
Previous molecular gas observations at arcsecond-scale resolution of the
Seyfert 2 galaxy M51 suggest the presence of a dense circumnuclear rotating
disk, which may be the reservoir for fueling the active nucleus and obscures it
from direct view in the optical. However, our recent interferometric CO(3-2)
observations show a hint of a velocity gradient perpendicular to the rotating
disk, which suggests a more complex structure than previously thought. To image
the putative circumnuclear molecular gas disk at sub-arcsecond resolution to
better understand both the spatial distribution and kinematics of the molecular
gas. We carried out CO(2-1) and CO(1-0) line observations of the nuclear region
of M51 with the new A configuration of the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer,
yielding a spatial resolution lower than 15 pc. The high resolution images show
no clear evidence of a disk, aligned nearly east-west and perpendicular to the
radio jet axis, as suggested by previous observations, but show two separate
features located on the eastern and western sides of the nucleus. The western
feature shows an elongated structure along the jet and a good velocity
correspondence with optical emission lines associated with the jet, suggesting
that this feature is a jet-entrained gas. The eastern feature is elongated
nearly east-west ending around the nucleus. A velocity gradient appears in the
same direction with increasingly blueshifted velocities near the nucleus. This
velocity gradient is in the opposite sense of that previously inferred for the
putative circumnuclear disk. Possible explanations for the observed molecular
gas distribution and kinematics are that a rotating gas disk disturbed by the
jet, gas streaming toward the nucleus, or a ring with another smaller counter-
or Keplarian-rotating gas disk inside.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to appear in A&A Letters Special Issue for the
new extended configuration at the IRAM PdB
Prototype finline-coupled TES bolometers for CLOVER
CLOVER is an experiment which aims to detect the signature of gravitational
waves from inflation by measuring the B-mode polarization of the cosmic
microwave background. CLOVER consists of three telescopes operating at 97, 150,
and 220 GHz. The 97-GHz telescope has 160 feedhorns in its focal plane while
the 150 and 220-GHz telescopes have 256 horns each. The horns are arranged in a
hexagonal array and feed a polarimeter which uses finline-coupled TES
bolometers as detectors. To detect the two polarizations the 97-GHz telescope
has 320 detectors while the 150 and 220-GHz telescopes have 512 detectors each.
To achieve the target NEPs (1.5, 2.5, and 4.5x10^-17 W/rtHz) the detectors are
cooled to 100 mK for the 97 and 150-GHz polarimeters and 230 mK for the 220-GHz
polarimeter. Each detector is fabricated as a single chip to ensure a 100%
operational focal plane. The detectors are contained in linear modules made of
copper which form split-block waveguides. The detector modules contain 16 or 20
detectors each for compatibility with the hexagonal arrays of horns in the
telescopes' focal planes. Each detector module contains a time-division SQUID
multiplexer to read out the detectors. Further amplification of the multiplexed
signals is provided by SQUID series arrays. The first prototype detectors for
CLOVER operate with a bath temperature of 230 mK and are used to validate the
detector design as well as the polarimeter technology. We describe the design
of the CLOVER detectors, detector blocks, and readout, and present preliminary
measurements of the prototype detectors performance.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures; to appear in the Proceedings of the 17th
International Symposium on Space Terahertz Technology, held 10-12 May 2006 in
Pari
Brief interventions to prevent excessive alcohol use in adolescents at low-risk presenting to Emergency Departments: Three-arm, randomised trial of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness
BackgroundAlcohol consumption and related harm increase rapidly from the age of 12 years. We evaluated whether alcohol screening and brief intervention is effective and cost-effective in delaying hazardous or harmful drinking amongst low-risk or abstaining adolescents attending Emergency Departments (EDs).MethodsThis ten-centre, three-arm, parallel-group, single-blind, pragmatic, individually randomised trial screened ED attenders aged between 14 and 17 years for alcohol consumption. We sampled at random one third of those scoring at most 2 on AUDIT-C who had access to the internet and, if aged under 16, were Gillick competent or had informed consent from parent or guardian. We randomised them between: screening only (control intervention); one session of face-to-face Personalised Feedback and Brief Advice (PFBA); and PFBA plus an electronic brief intervention (eBI) on smartphone or web. We conducted follow-up after six and 12 months. The principal outcomes were alcohol consumed over the 3 months before 12-month follow up, measured by AUDIT-C; and quality-adjusted life-years.FindingsBetween October 2014 and May 2015, we approached 5,016 eligible patients of whom 3,326 consented to be screened and participate in the trial; 2,571 of these were low-risk drinkers or abstainers, consuming an average 0.14 units per week. We randomised: 304 to screening only; 285 to PFBA; and 294 to PFBA and eBI. We found no significant difference between groups, notably in weekly alcohol consumption: those receiving screening only drank 0.10 units (95% confidence interval 0.05 to 0.18); PFBA 0.12 (0.06 to 0.21); PFBA and eBI 0.10 (0.05 to 0.19).InterpretationWhile drinking levels remained low in this population, this trial found no evidence that PFBA with or without eBI was more effective than screening alone in reducing or delaying alcohol consumption
Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms Among a Population of HIV-Infected Men and Women in Routine HIV Care in the United States
Depressive symptoms vary in severity and chronicity. We used group-based trajectory models to describe trajectories of depressive symptoms (measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9) and predictors of trajectory group membership among 1493 HIV-infected men (84%) and 292 HIV-infected women (16%). At baseline, 29% of women and 26% of men had depressive symptoms. Over a median of 30 months of follow-up, we identified four depressive symptom trajectories for women (labeled âlowâ [experienced by 56% of women], âmild/moderateâ [24%], âimprovingâ [14%], and âsevereâ [6%]) and five for men (âlowâ [61%], âmild/moderateâ [14%], âreboundingâ [5%], âimprovingâ [13%], and âsevereâ [7%]). Baseline antidepressant prescription, panic symptoms, and prior mental health diagnoses were associated with more severe or dynamic depressive symptom trajectories. Nearly a quarter of participants experienced some depressive symptoms, highlighting the need for improved depression management. Addressing more severe or dynamic depressive symptom trajectories may require interventions that additionally address mental health comorbidities
Improving Depression Among HIV-Infected Adults: Transporting the Effect of a Depression Treatment Intervention to Routine Care
Depression affects 20-30% of people with HIV. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have demonstrated the effectiveness of interventions to improve depression among HIV-infected adults, but typically have highly selected populations which may limit generalizability. Inverse probability of sampling weights (IPSW) are a recently proposed method to transport (or standardize) findings from RCTs to a specific external target population
Does self-administered vaginal misoprostol result in cervical ripening in postmenopausal women after 14 days of pre-treatment with estradiol? Trial protocol for a randomised, placebo-controlled sequential trial*
Comparison of self-administered vaginal misoprostol versus placebo for cervical ripening prior to operative hysteroscopy using a sequential trial design*
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