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.

Living positively with dementia: a systematic review and synthesis of the qualitative literature

Objective: Little is known about how and to what extent people with dementia live positively with their condition. This study aimed to review and carry out a synthesis of qualitative studies where accounts of the subjective experiences of people with dementia contained evidence of positive states, experiences or attributes. Methods: A meta-synthesis was undertaken to generate an integrated and interpretive account of the ability of people with dementia to have positive experiences. A methodological quality assessment was undertaken to maximize the reliability and validity of this synthesis and to contextualize the findings with regard to methodological constraints and epistemological concepts. Findings: Twenty-seven papers were included. Three super-ordinate themes relating to positive experiences and attributes were identified, each with varying and complementing sub-themes. The first super-ordinate theme related to the experience of engaging with life in ageing rather than explicitly to living with dementia. The second theme related to engaging with dementia itself and comprised the strengths that people can utilize in facing and fighting the condition. The third theme captured how people with dementia might transcend the condition and seek ways to maintain identity and even achieve personal growth. Conclusions: This review provides a first step towards understanding what conceptual domains might be important in defining positive outcomes for people who live with dementia. Highlighting the potential for people to have positive experiences in spite of or even because of their dementia has important implications for de-stigmatizing dementia and will enhance person-centred approaches to care

269— Age of Colon Cancer Screening - A Retrospective Review

Colon cancer is the third most common cause of cancer-related death in the U.S. In 2019, the American Cancer Society predicted that 101,420 people in the U.S. would receive a new diagnosis of colon cancer. Due to this high prevalence, there has been a recent debate about the appropriate age to start colon cancer screening. Currently, the American Society of Gastroenterology recommends that screening start for average risk individuals at the age of 50. Conversely, the American Cancer Society has recently recommended that colon cancer screening for average risk individuals begin at the age of 45. The aim of our study is to determine if there is any difference in precancerous polyp detection rate in a risk patients undergoing screening colonoscopy at age 50 versus between 45 and 49. We examined 200 at risk individuals who underwent screening colonoscopy at Digestive Disease Center of CNY, an outpatient endoscopy center. Out of these 200 patients, 52 of them were found to have precancerous polyps. Our results indicated no significant difference in incidence of precancerous polyps between the two age groups (p=.1702). Our results indicate that there is evidence for the screening age to be lowered to below the age of 50

The Stolen Generations: competing histories

The high rate of removal of Indigenous children from their families has produced a devastating impact on Aboriginal communities. In discussing how an ongoing failure to appreciate the intergenerational impact of forced removals has led to a failure in policy as well as the continued removal of Indigenous children from their communities today, this essay argues the importance of acknowledging the complexity of the Stolen Generations over simplistic narratives that foster divisiveness. KeywordsStolen Generations; assimilation policy; history wars; interventionis

Extracellular Enzymes in Aquatic Environments: Possible Role of Non-Specific Peptidases in Microcystin Degradation and Effects of Assay Protocol on Calculated Activities

Extracellular enzyme assays are widely used methods to probe the interactions between microbes and complex organic matter. Microbes produce extracellular enzymes to degrade macromolecules into smaller molecules that can be transported across cell membranes. Enzyme assays provide a quantitative understanding of the rates and specificities of extracellular enzymes toward these macromolecules. This study explored 1) the biodegradation pathways of microcystin-LR (MC-LR), a cyanobacterial peptide toxin, by measuring the activities of extracellular peptidases produced by putative MCLR degraders and 2) the effects of enzyme assay protocol on activity measurements, which involved the creation of ezmmek, an R package designed to analyze enzyme assay data reproducibly under different protocols. Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, an MC-LRdegrader that employs an unknown pathway, produces L-Leucine aminopeptidases. Future work can test whether these same peptidases are capable of degrading MC-LR. Two enzyme assay protocols were applied to the same freshwater sample, but resulted in significantly different activity measurements when analyzed with ezmmek. Widespread adoption of ezmmek could standardize enzyme analytical pathways performed by otherresearchers, and will make results more comparable among MC-LR and other organic matter degradation studies

First Lunar Outpost support study

The First Lunar Outpost (FLO) is the first manned step in the accomplishment of the Space Exploration Initiative, the Vice President's directive to NASA on the 20th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing. FLO's broad objectives are the establishment of a permanent human presence on the moon, supporting the utilization of extraterrestrial resources in a long-term, sustained program. The primary objective is to emplace and validate the first elements of a man tended outpost on the lunar surface to provide the basis for: (1) establishing, maintaining and expanding human activities and influence across the surface; (2) establishing, maintaining and enhancing human safety and productivity; (3) accommodating space transportation operations to and from the surface; (4) accommodating production of scientific information; (5) exploiting in-situ resources. Secondary objectives are: (1) to conduct local, small scale science (including life science); (2) In-situ resource utilization (ISRU) demonstrations; (3) engineering and operations tests; (4) to characterize the local environment; and (5) to explore locally. The current work is part of ongoing research at the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture supporting NASA's First Lunar Outpost initiative. Research at SICSA supporting the First Lunar Outpost initiative has been funded through the Space Exploration Initiatives office at Johnson Space Center. The objectives of the current study are to further develop a module concept from an evaluation of volumetric and programmatic requirements, and pursue a high fidelity design of this concept, with the intention of providing a high fidelity design mockup to research planetary design issues and evaluate future design concepts

Construction of Fluorescently-Tagged and Adenosine Nucleotide-Binding Mutations of the Human MutS Homolog Heterodimer MSH2-MSH3

DNA mismatch repair (MMR) is a highly conserved system for correcting mispaired nucleotides arising from misincorporation errors during DNA replication, genetic recombination, and chemical or physical damage. The MutS homologues (MSH) and MutL homologues (MLH/PMS) are the fundamental components of MMR and are conserved from bacteria to humans. The MSH proteins initiate MMR via mismatch legion recognition. One human MSH complex in particular, hMSH2-hMSH3, recognizes small insertion deletion loops (IDL) and repetitive DNA sequences. Inherited mutations in many MMR genes including hMSH2 lead to a predisposition for colorectal cancer (hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer, HNPCC). Also, the hMSH2-hMSH3 complex has been implicated in the expansion of tri-nucleotide repeats in disorders such as Huntington’s disease and myotonic dystrophy. The role hMSH2-hMSH3 plays in this expansion remains enigmatic. Two mutations made to the Walker A nucleotide binding domain of hMSH2 and hMSH3 will allow for a detailed study of the mechanics of this complex in recognizing and binding DNA lesions, as well as the signaling of downstream MMR components. A detailed study of the conformational changes the protein undergoes in lesion recognition will also be possible via fluorescently tagged MSH2 and MSH3 subunits for use in fluorescence resonance energy transfer.Dean's Undergraduate Research Fund AwardNo embarg