Depressive Symptoms among College Students: An Exploration of Fundamental Cause Theory

Fundamental Cause Theory suggests that socioeconomic and demographic factors are causal to various illnesses, including depression. However, no known previously existing research has used Fundamental Cause Theory to create a model of depression among college students. To do this, the present study conducted a stepwise binomial logistic regression to examine how socioeconomic status and the sociodemographic variables of Gender, Race, and Sexual Orientation, and others predict depressive symptoms in a large sample of undergraduates when controlling for stressful life events and social support (N = 2,915). Results support the hypothesis that socioeconomic disparities in depressive symptoms are the result of stress. In the final model, low Social Support was the most predictive variable of high depressive symptoms (OR = 2.882), followed by being bisexual (OR = 2.061). Being black was significantly protective against high depressive symptoms (OR = 0.613). Implications for future research and university services are discussed

Dental Dam Utilization by Dentists in an Intramural Faculty Practice

Objectives: From casual observation of our colleagues, only a few individuals use the dental dam for operative procedures in their faculty practice. The purpose of this study was to obtain faculty perceptions of the dental dam, quantify its utilization in their intramural faculty practice, and determine the factors that influence dental dam usage.Materials and Methods: A survey containing 11 questions was sent to 19 faculty members who teach full time and maintain an intramural dental practice involving operative dentistry. Thirty electronic dental health records of the 19 providers were reviewed to gather the following information from restorative procedures they completed: isolation methods, tooth location and involved surfaces, and dental restorative material.Results: Overall, dental dam was utilized for 30% of all restorative procedures and was used less than 20% of the time for placement of class II and class III composite resins. Dental dam utilization rate by general dentists was 37% and 17.6% for prosthodontists. Those general dentists with prior history of military dental practice had a utilization rate of 78.6% and nonmilitary dentists only 7.6%. Eight faculty members responded to the questionnaire for a 42% return rate. Those who practiced dentistry in the military strongly agreed that the dental dam is the standard of care, improves their quality of restorative work, and should be documented in the dental record.Conclusions: There were significantly different dental dam utilization rates between general dentists and prosthodontists and between dentists with prior military experience and those without

Abstract Assassination: How Police Militarization Has Contributed to the Rise of “Swatting”

In recent decades, police militarization has firmly planted itself at the forefront of academic discourse in institutions of higher learning around the globe. Various stances, positions, and theories have been extolled as to its origins, implications, and repercussions; however, this decade has produced what is arguably the most tangible embodiment of police militarization as a whole: swatting. Ostensibly a prank, this phenomenon entails the false reporting of a serious crime with the covert intention of this report being to direct as many heavily armed police officers to a location as possible. This phenomenon has become increasingly popular in the world of online gaming, with many perpetrators seeking to settle scores or exact revenge for breaches of gaming etiquette on individuals that are often a considerable distance away from them. Within the last decade, several deaths have resulted and numerous close calls have been brought to light following intense media coverage of high-profile incidents, including several instances involving celebrities. While policy makers scramble to assign blame and institute plans to circumvent the loss of any additional lives, many fail to recognize that this is merely the latest symptom of a desperately ill criminal justice system. This thesis will demonstrate that swatting is the latest in a string of increasingly overt side effects of the militarization of police. To this end, both contemporary and historical sources will be used to illustrate swatting’s lineage; as well as to provide a prism through which to contemplate possible solutions to this alarming new trend

A designed phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase variant allows efficient in vivo incorporation of aryl ketone functionality into proteins

Incorporation of non-natural amino acids into proteins in vivo expands the scope of protein synthesis and design. p-Acetylphenylalanine was incorporated into recombinant dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) in Escherichia coli via a computationally designed mutant form of the phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase of the host. DHFR outfitted with ketone functionality can be chemoselectively ligated with hydrazide reagents under mild conditions

Reasons for vaccine declination in healthy individuals attending an international vaccine and travel clinic

Little is known about the vaccine-related health behaviors of healthy individuals. We surveyed healthy individuals attending a vaccine center to define the reasons behind vaccine declination when the vaccine is warranted under current guidance. Declination due to perceived risks of the vaccines were by far the most common rationale, suggesting continued need for public health educational campaigns

Derivatives of 8-Hydroxy-2-methylquinoline Are Powerful Prototypes for Zinc Sensors in Biological Systems

The recent emphasis on understanding the myriad roles of zinc in both normal and diseased cells and tissues has placed an ever increasing demand on methods for sensitive and selective methods for real-time monitoring of free Zn^(2+) in complex biological samples. Chelation-enhanced fluorescent sensors for zinc, based on fluorophores such as quinoline, dansyl, fluorescein, and anthracene, have been reported. While each of these agents has unique advantages, there remain issues with sensitivity, selectivity, and specificity that may be addressable with an alternate chromophore that is readily amenable to synthetic manipulation. Herein we report the systematic chemical modification of the 8-hydroxy-2-methylquinoline (Oxn) unit as a building block for the development of new sensors employing chelation-enhanced fluorescence. In particular, improvements in quantum yield from 0.004 to 0.70 and stepwise blue shifts in fluorescence emission wavelengths (to a total of over 70 nm) are reported