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Implicit and Explicit Alcohol-Related Motivations among College Binge Drinkers

Rationale: Positive alcohol outcome expectancies and behavioral economic indices of alcohol consumption are related to binge drinking among college students and may reflect explicit and implicit motivations that are differentially associated with this behavior. Objectives: The present study hypothesized that implicit (alcohol purchase task) and explicit (positive expectancy for alcohol’s effects) motivations for drinking would not be correlated. It was also hypothesized that greater implicit and explicit motivations would predict alcohol-related risk. Methods: Participants were 297 college student binge drinkers (54% female; 88% European-American; Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test: M = 9.53, SD = 5.04). Three indices from the alcohol purchase task (APT) were modeled as a latent implicit alcohol-related motivations variable. Explicit alcohol-related motivations were measured using a global positive expectancy subscale from the Comprehensive Effects of Alcohol Questionnaire. Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test total, Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index total, and age of drinking onset were modeled as a latent alcohol-related risk variable. Structural equation modeling was used to examine associations among implicit motivations, explicit motivations, and alcohol-related risk. Results: Implicit and explicit motivations were not correlated. Partially consistent with the second hypothesis, greater implicit motivations were associated with greater alcohol-related risk. Relations between explicit motivations and alcohol-related risk were marginally significant. Conclusions: Implicit and explicit drinking motivations are differentially associated with problem drinking behaviors. Future research should examine the underlying neurobiological mechanisms associated with these factors

{\AA}ngstr\"om-resolved Interfacial Structure in Organic-Inorganic Junctions

Charge transport processes at interfaces which are governed by complex interfacial electronic structure play a crucial role in catalytic reactions, energy storage, photovoltaics, and many biological processes. Here, the first soft X-ray second harmonic generation (SXR-SHG) interfacial spectrum of a buried interface (boron/Parylene-N) is reported. SXR-SHG shows distinct spectral features that are not observed in X-ray absorption spectra, demonstrating its extraordinary interfacial sensitivity. Comparison to electronic structure calculations indicates a boron-organic separation distance of 1.9 {\AA}, wherein changes as small as 0.1 {\AA} result in easily detectable SXR-SHG spectral shifts (ca. 100s of meV). As SXR-SHG is inherently ultrafast and sensitive to individual atomic layers, it creates the possibility to study a variety of interfacial processes, e.g. catalysis, with ultrafast time resolution and bond specificity.Comment: 19 page

Analysis of α-synuclein species enriched from cerebral cortex of humans with sporadic dementia with Lewy bodies.

Since researchers identified α-synuclein as the principal component of Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites, studies have suggested that it plays a causative role in the pathogenesis of dementia with Lewy bodies and other 'synucleinopathies'. While α-synuclein dyshomeostasis likely contributes to the neurodegeneration associated with the synucleinopathies, few direct biochemical analyses of α-synuclein from diseased human brain tissue currently exist. In this study, we analysed sequential protein extracts from a substantial number of patients with neuropathological diagnoses of dementia with Lewy bodies and corresponding controls, detecting a shift of cytosolic and membrane-bound physiological α-synuclein to highly aggregated forms. We then fractionated aqueous extracts (cytosol) from cerebral cortex using non-denaturing methods to search for soluble, disease-associated high molecular weight species potentially associated with toxicity. We applied these fractions and corresponding insoluble fractions containing Lewy-type aggregates to several reporter assays to determine their bioactivity and cytotoxicity. Ultimately, high molecular weight cytosolic fractions enhances phospholipid membrane permeability, while insoluble, Lewy-associated fractions induced morphological changes in the neurites of human stem cell-derived neurons. While the concentrations of soluble, high molecular weight α-synuclein were only slightly elevated in brains of dementia with Lewy bodies patients compared to healthy, age-matched controls, these observations suggest that a small subset of soluble α-synuclein aggregates in the brain may drive early pathogenic effects, while Lewy body-associated α-synuclein can drive neurotoxicity

Bullying of extremely low birth weight children: Associated risk factors during adolescence

Preterm children have many risk factors which may increase their susceptibility to being bullied. AIMS: To examine the prevalence of bullying among extremely low birth weight (ELBW, <1kg) and normal birth weight (NBW) adolescents and the associated sociodemographic, physical, and psychosocial risk factors and correlates among the ELBW children

Neuropsychiatric Symptoms and Expenditure on Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Objective—Neuropsychiatric symptoms affect 37% of US adults. These symptoms are often refractory to standard therapies, and patients may consequently opt for complementary and alternative medicine therapies (CAM). We sought to determine the demand for CAM by those with neuropsychiatric symptoms compared to those without neuropsychiatric symptoms as measured by out-of-pocket expenditure. Method—We compared CAM expenditure between US adults with and without neuropsychiatric symptoms (n = 23,393) using the 2007 National Health Interview Survey. Symptoms included depression, anxiety, insomnia, attention deficits, headaches, excessive sleepiness, and memory loss. CAM was defined per guidelines from the National Institutes of Health as mind body therapies, biological therapies, manipulation therapies, or alternative medical systems. Expenditure on CAM by those without neuropsychiatric symptoms was compared to those with neuropsychiatric symptoms. Results—Of the adults surveyed, 37% had ≥ 1 neuropsychiatric symptom and spent $ 14.8 billion out-of-pocket on CAM. Those with ≥ 1 neuropsychiatric symptom were more likely than those without neuropsychiatric symptoms to spend on CAM (27.4% vs 20.3%, P < .001). Likelihood to spend on CAM increased with number of symptoms (27.2% with ≥ 3 symptoms, P < .001). After adjustment was made for confounders using logistic regression, those with ≥