Cigarette Taxes and Youth Smoking: New Evidence from National, State, & Local Youth Risk Behavior Surveys

Several studies have examined the effects of state cigarette tax increases on youth substance use over the 1990s, with most -- but not all -- finding that higher taxes reduce youth consumption of tobacco. We advance the literature by using data from the 1991-2005 waves of the national Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBS), providing information on over 100,000 high school age youths. We also are the first to make use of hundreds of independently fielded state and local versions of the YRBS, reflecting data from over 750,000 youths. Importantly, these data are to our knowledge the only sources of relevant information on youth smoking that were explicitly designed to be representative of the sampled state or locality. We estimate two-way fixed effects models of the effect of state cigarette taxes on youth smoking, controlling for survey demographics and area and year fixed effects. Our most consistent finding is that -- contrary to some recent research -- the large state tobacco tax increases of the past 15 years were associated with significant reductions in smoking participation and frequent smoking by youths. Our price elasticity estimates for smoking participation by high school youths are generally smaller than previous cross-sectional approaches but are similar to recent quasi-experimental estimates.

Who Are We Educating? Why Undergraduate Students Choose to Major in Communication

This study examined student traits and major characteristics that might lead students to choose communication as a major by collecting survey responses from 476 undergraduate students. Attitudes about the major and potential jobs, expected norms from parents, and areas of perceived behavioral control based on student anxieties were analyzed as predictors of choosing the communication major. Short term benefits of taking communication classes as well as the long-term benefits predicted students’ intention of graduating with a communication major. The perception that the major required little math was associated with choosing the major for those higher in math anxiety

Do People Who Identify as Popular Become Popular in a New Network? A 9-Month Longitudinal Network Analysis

Although scholars have argued that people actively shape and reshape their social networks (e.g., Parks, 2016), this aspect of relational development has received little attention. This study sought to determine if people’s self-perceptions of interpersonal communication skills translated into behavior that led to relationship formation in a new network. A 9-month longitudinal social network analysis (N = 94) of the residents of a first-year university residence hall using Facebook tie data was conducted to assess network changes. Results indicate that both self-perceived network centrality in a hypothetical friendship sociogram (Smith & Fink, 2015) and self-reported connector scores (Boster et al., 2011) are good longitudinal predictors of relationship development. Those who began by self-identifying as central, became central

A profile of arguing behaviors on Facebook

This study explored how people argue on social-networking sites. Specifically, participants (N = 170) responded to open and closed-ended questions about the most recent argument they had engaged in on Facebook. Results of a content analysis of participants' answers revealed individuals tended to argue mostly about public issues, in somewhat complex arguments that involved a median of six people and with about 30 comments exchanged. Individuals often pursued multiple goals, with persuasion and defending themselves or others also reported by some. Arguments tended to end without resolution, and most had no effects on arguers' relationships; however, for 20% of the sample, arguments permanently damaged their relationships. Although the number of friends participants had did not have a substantial effect on their frequency of arguing, the frequency with which one's friends argued on Facebook was positively related to one's own arguing frequency. These results are interpreted in connection to argumentation and computer-mediated-communication literature. Limitations of the study as well as directions for future research are also discussed

STING-dependent recognition of cyclic di-AMP mediates type I interferon responses during Chlamydia trachomatis infection.

UnlabelledSTING (stimulator of interferon [IFN] genes) initiates type I IFN responses in mammalian cells through the detection of microbial nucleic acids. The membrane-bound obligate intracellular bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis induces a STING-dependent type I IFN response in infected cells, yet the IFN-inducing ligand remains unknown. In this report, we provide evidence that Chlamydia synthesizes cyclic di-AMP (c-di-AMP), a nucleic acid metabolite not previously identified in Gram-negative bacteria, and that this metabolite is a prominent ligand for STING-mediated activation of IFN responses during infection. We used primary mouse lung fibroblasts and HEK293T cells to compare IFN-β responses to Chlamydia infection, c-di-AMP, and other type I IFN-inducing stimuli. Chlamydia infection and c-di-AMP treatment induced type I IFN responses in cells expressing STING but not in cells expressing STING variants that cannot sense cyclic dinucleotides but still respond to cytoplasmic DNA. The failure to induce a type I IFN response to Chlamydia and c-di-AMP correlated with the inability of STING to relocalize from the endoplasmic reticulum to cytoplasmic punctate signaling complexes required for IFN activation. We conclude that Chlamydia induces STING-mediated IFN responses through the detection of c-di-AMP in the host cell cytosol and propose that c-di-AMP is the ligand predominantly responsible for inducing such a response in Chlamydia-infected cells.ImportanceThis study shows that the Gram-negative obligate pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis, a major cause of pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility, synthesizes cyclic di-AMP (c-di-AMP), a nucleic acid metabolite that thus far has been described only in Gram-positive bacteria. We further provide evidence that the host cell employs an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-localized cytoplasmic sensor, STING (stimulator of interferon [IFN] genes), to detect c-di-AMP synthesized by Chlamydia and induce a protective IFN response. This detection occurs even though Chlamydia is confined to a membrane-bound vacuole. This raises the possibility that the ER, an organelle that innervates the entire cytoplasm, is equipped with pattern recognition receptors that can directly survey membrane-bound pathogen-containing vacuoles for leaking microbe-specific metabolites to mount type I IFN responses required to control microbial infections

30-Day emergency department revisit rates among older adults with documented dementia

OBJECTIVES: Published literature on national emergency department (ED) revisit rates among older adults with dementia is sparse, despite anecdotal evidence of higher ED utilization. Thus we evaluated the odds ratio (OR) of 30-day ED revisits among older adults with dementia using a nationally representative sample. DESIGN: We assessed the frequency of claims associated with a 30-day ED revisit among Medicare beneficiaries with and without a dementia diagnosis before or at index ED visit. We used a logistic regression model controlling for dementia, age, sex, race, region, Medicaid status, transfer to a skilled nursing facility after ED, primary care physician use 12 months before index, and comorbidity. SETTING: A nationally representative sample of claims data for Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older who maintained continuous fee-for-service enrollment during 2015 and 2016. Only outpatient claims associated with an ED visit between January 2016 and November 2016 were included as a qualifying index encounter. PARTICIPANTS: We identified 240 249 patients without dementia and 54 622 patients for whom a dementia code was recorded in the year before the index encounter in 2016. RESULTS: Our results indicate a significant difference in unadjusted 30-day ED revisit rates among those with an ED dementia diagnoses (22.0%) compared with those without (13.9%). Our adjusted results indicated that dementia is a significant predictor of 30-day ED revisits (P \u3c .0001). Those with a dementia diagnosis at or before the index ED visit were more likely to have experienced an ED revisit within 30 days (OR = 1.27; 95% confidence interval = 1.24-1.31). CONCLUSION: Dementia diagnoses were a significant predictor of 30-day ED revisits. Further research should assess potential reasons why dementia is associated with markedly higher revisit rates, as well as opportunities to manage and transition dementia patients from the ED back to the community more effectively. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:2254-2259, 2019

The diagnostic accuracy of the rapid ultrasound in shock (rush) exam for shock etiology : a systematic review and meta-analysis

Poster presented at the 2017 Health Sciences Research Day which was organized and sponsored by the University of Missouri School of Medicine Research Council and held on November 9, 2017.Conclusion: The RUSH performs generally well to diagnose the category of shock in patients presenting with undifferentiated shock to the ED. However, given modest –LR values for several categories (notably distributive and mixed-etiology), it is likely best employed as one component to a complete evaluation of a patient with undifferentiated shock, rather than be relied upon solely

Crystal and magnetic structures of hexagonal YMnO \textrm3

The available data on the structural and magnetic transitions in multiferroic hexagonal YMnO3 have been reviewed, first making use of the computer programs from the group theoretical ISOTROPY software suite to list possible crystal and magnetic structures, then taking into account the capability of neutron diffraction and other physical methods to distinguish them. This leads to a clear view of the transformation sequence, as follows. Hexagonal YMnO3 is paraelectric in P63/mmc at elevated temperatures, and undergoes a single structural transition on cooling through 1250 K to a ferrielectric phase in P63cm that is retained through room temperature. At a much lower temperature, 70 K, there is a magnetic transition from paramagnetic to a triangular antiferromagnetic arrangement, most likely with symmetry P63'cm'. Comment is made on the unusual coupling of ferroelectric and magnetic domains reported to occur in this material, as well as on the so-called `giant magneto-elastic' effect

Visualisation of Bluetongue Virus in the Salivary Apparatus of Culicoides Biting Midges Highlights the Accessory Glands as a Primary Arboviral Infection Site.

BACKGROUND Arthropods transmit a wide range of pathogens of importance for the global health of humans, animals, and plants. One group of these arthropod vectors, Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), is the biological vector of several human and animal pathogens, including economically important livestock viruses like bluetongue virus (BTV). Like other arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses), Culicoides-borne viruses must reach and replicate in the salivary apparatus, from where they can be transmitted to susceptible hosts through the saliva during subsequent blood feeding. Despite the importance of the salivary gland apparatus for pathogen transmission to susceptible animals from the bite of infected Culicoides, these structures have received relatively little attention, perhaps due to the small size and fragility of these vectors. RESULTS In this study, we developed techniques to visualize the infection of the salivary glands and other soft tissues with BTV, in some of the smallest known arbovirus vectors, Culicoides biting midges, using three-dimensional immunofluorescence confocal microscopy. We showed BTV infection of specific structures of the salivary gland apparatus of female Culicoides vectors following oral virus uptake, related visualisation of viral infection in the salivary apparatus to high viral RNA copies in the body, and demonstrated for the first time, that the accessory glands are a primary site for BTV replication within the salivary apparatus. CONCLUSIONS Our work has revealed a novel site of virus-vector interactions, and a novel role of the accessory glands of Culicoides in arbovirus amplification and transmission. Our approach would also be applicable to a wide range of arbovirus vector groups including sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae), as well as provide a powerful tool to investigate arbovirus infection and dissemination, particularly where there are practical challenges in the visualization of small size and delicate tissues of arthropods

Planting Food or Fuel: Developing an Interdisciplinary Approach to Understanding the Role of Culture in Farmers’ Decisions to Grow Second-Generation Biofuel Feedstock Crops

Recent interest in biofuels as an alternative energy source has spurred considerable changes in agricultural practice worldwide. These changes will be more pronounced as second-generation biofuels, such as switch grass, gain prominence; this article examines the cultural factors associated with the decisions U.S. farmers face in targeting crops for fuel production instead of food. Through an interdisciplinary assessment of the dynamics of farmers' behavior, developed herein is a theoretical framework to analyze how farmers grapple with shifting expectations of their function.National Science Foundation EPS-0903806, KU-Transportation Research Institut