Age of Drinking Initiation’s Association with Cognitive Functioning

Research has indicated that alcohol abuse is associated with deleterious effects on cognitive functioning later in life, specifically in the neuropsychological domains of immediate memory, delayed memory, and attention. However, research has been mixed regarding how age of initiation into problem drinking affects cognitive health after abstinence. This study aimed to identify if earlier age of alcohol abuse was associated with significant deficits in neuropsychological functioning in comparison to individuals who commenced alcohol abuse later in life. Participants were recruited from an alcohol rehabilitation program within Loma Linda University’s Behavioral Medicine Center and were administered the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) after eight days of substance sobriety. Results indicated that individuals who drank more and began drinking in childhood demonstrated significantly better performance in immediate memory in comparison to individuals who drank less and who initiated into drinking later in life. However, these findings are reflective of pervasive limitations within this study, including low power, low sample size, and operational complexities within the studies primary independent variables

The Formulation of a RBANS Effort Supplement

Assessment of effort detection is an essential component of a neuropsychological evaluation to ensure results of testing are valid indicators of an individual’s true level of cognitive functioning. Effort detection in the initial screening process provides neuropsychologists information regarding patients’ test engagement prior to administering longer testing batteries. Two effort measures are embedded in the Repeatable Battery for Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), a neuropsychological screening assessment, but both have demonstrated elevated false positive rates for classifying individuals with memory impairment as those putting forth poor effort. These embedded measures rely on cut-off scores on digit span and memory subtests. In contrast, this RBANS Effort Supplement (RES) utilizes several forced-choice subtests, reflective of current research emphasizing the importance of multiple methods of effort detection; subtests in this measure included list learning forced-choice, figure copy forced-choice, picture naming forced-choice, a coding task, and a story recognition component utilized for face validity of memory assessment. Fiftynine participants were recruited from an outpatient neuropsychology facility in conjunction with 14 poor effort simulators; each participant was administered the RBANS, the RES, and the Dot Counting Test (DCT). Results supported the RES’ reliability at the individual decision-making level. Validity analyses demonstrated that the RES exhibited strong convergent validity with established effort detection measures and that individuals putting for poor effort scored significantly lower on the RES than individuals who put forth adequate effort, as delineated by the established DCT cutoff score of 17. In summary, the RES was shown to be a valid indicator of effort detection. Clinical implications of the RES include reduction of time and costs involved in neuropsychological assessment

The Dymanics of Market Entry: The Effects of Mergers and Acquisitions on De Novo Entry and Small Business Lending in the Banking Industry,

We study the dynamics of market entry following mergers and acquisitions (M&As), and the behavior of recent entrants in supplying output that might be withdrawn by the consolidating firms. The data, drawn from the banking industry, suggests that M&As are associated with subsequent increases in the probability of entry. The estimates suggest that M&As explain more than 20% of entry in metropolitan markets, and more than 10% of entry in rural markets. Additional results suggest that bank age has a strong negative effect on the small business lending of small banks, but that M&As have little influence on this lending

CARMA CO(J = 2 - 1) Observations of the Circumstellar Envelope of Betelgeuse

We report radio interferometric observations of the 12C16O 1.3 mm J = 2-1 emission line in the circumstellar envelope of the M supergiant Alpha Ori and have detected and separated both the S1 and S2 flow components for the first time. Observations were made with the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA) interferometer in the C, D, and E antenna configurations. We obtain good u-v coverage (5-280 klambda) by combining data from all three configurations allowing us to trace spatial scales as small as 0.9\arcsec over a 32\arcsec field of view. The high spectral and spatial resolution C configuration line profile shows that the inner S1 flow has slightly asymmetric outflow velocities ranging from -9.0 km s-1 to +10.6 km s-1 with respect to the stellar rest frame. We find little evidence for the outer S2 flow in this configuration because the majority of this emission has been spatially-filtered (resolved out) by the array. We also report a SOFIA-GREAT CO(J= 12-11) emission line profile which we associate with this inner higher excitation S1 flow. The outer S2 flow appears in the D and E configuration maps and its outflow velocity is found to be in good agreement with high resolution optical spectroscopy of K I obtained at the McDonald Observatory. We image both S1 and S2 in the multi-configuration maps and see a gradual change in the angular size of the emission in the high absolute velocity maps. We assign an outer radius of 4\arcsec to S1 and propose that S2 extends beyond CARMA's field of view (32\arcsec at 1.3 mm) out to a radius of 17\arcsec which is larger than recent single-dish observations have indicated. When azimuthally averaged, the intensity fall-off for both flows is found to be proportional to R^{-1}, where R is the projected radius, indicating optically thin winds with \rho \propto R^{-2}.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures To be published in the Astronomical Journal (Received 2012 February 10; accepted 2012 May 25

Climate Change in the American Mind, September 2021

Our latest national survey finds that overall public understanding that climate change is happening, affecting the weather, and harming Americans is at all-time record highs. For example, Americans who think global warming is happening outnumber those who think it is not by a ratio of more than 6 to 1 (76% versus 12%). Those who are "very" or "extremely" sure global warming is happening outnumber those who are "very" or "extremely" sure it is not by about 8 to 1 (57% versus 7%). The report includes many other interesting findings, including how often Americans hear and talk about global warming.This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (climatecommunication.yale.edu) and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication (climatechangecommunication.org). Interview dates: September 10 – 20, 2021. Interviews: 1,006 Adults (18+). Average margin of error +/- 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level

A high-resolution record of early Paleozoic climate

The spatial coverage and temporal resolution of the Early Paleozoic paleoclimate record are limited, primarily due to the paucity of well-preserved skeletal material commonly used for oxygen-isotope paleothermometry. Bulk-rock δ¹⁸O datasets can provide broader coverage and higher resolution, but are prone to burial alteration. We assess the diagenetic character of two thick Cambro–Ordovician carbonate platforms with minimal to moderate burial by pairing clumped and bulk isotope analyses of micritic carbonates. Despite resetting of the clumped-isotope thermometer at both sites, our samples indicate relatively little change to their bulk δ¹⁸O due to low fluid exchange. Consequently, both sequences preserve temporal trends in δ¹⁸O. Motivated by this result, we compile a global suite of bulk rock δ¹⁸O data, stacking overlapping regional records to minimize diagenetic influences on overall trends. We find good agreement of bulk rock δ¹⁸O with brachiopod and conodont δ¹⁸O trends through time. Given evidence that the δ¹⁸O value of seawater has not evolved substantially through the Phanerozoic, we interpret this record as primarily reflecting changes in tropical, nearshore seawater temperatures and only moderately modified by diagenesis. Focusing on the samples with the most enriched, and thus likely least-altered, δ¹⁸O values, we reconstruct Late Cambrian warming, Early Ordovician extreme warmth, and cooling around the Early–Middle Ordovician boundary. Our record is consistent with models linking the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event to cooling of previously very warm tropical oceans. In addition, our high-temporal-resolution record suggests previously unresolved transient warming and climate instability potentially associated with Late Ordovician tectonic events

Climate Change Activism Among Latino and White Americans

Research indicates that Latinos have particularly strong pro-environmental attitudes and support for policies to reduce climate change. This study explores differences in climate change activism (i.e., contacting government officials) between Latino and non-Latino White citizens in the United States, and the individual and social factors that predict engagement. Two parallel, nationally representative surveys find that Latinos (n = 1,433) are more likely than Whites (n = 861) to report having contacted a government official in the past and are more willing to contact officials in the future. Key predictors of Latinos' significantly higher levels of political engagement include greater risk perceptions, egalitarian worldviews, pro-environment injunctive norms, collective political efficacy, and greater social network effects. Competitive mediation analyses find that stronger risk perceptions best predict differences in climate change activism between Latinos and Whites. Climate change communicators might particularly seek to amplify Latinos' pro-climate tendencies (e.g., heightened risk perceptions) and social norms to encourage greater climate action by this vital and growing segment of the U.S. population

What factors cause foreign banks to stay in London?

The banking literature focuses extensively on the phenomenon of bank entry and pays less attention to the factors driving the continuation of banking activities in foreign markets. In this paper, we analyze this important, but overlooked, issue by constructing a unique database of foreign banks that continue operating and those that have withdrawn from arguably the world’s most international banking center—London. This new data set comprises information on 408 offices from 77 countries spanning the period from 1945 to 1999, giving us 4643 observations, of which 2795 represent offices that continue operating and 1848 that withdrew from London during this period. Our empirical work shows that the continuation of international banking activity in London is positively related to: the setup of locally integrated organizational forms at entry; the experience in the local market; and the size of local operations. Continuation of banking activities is however negatively related to the setup of organizational forms integrated into the parent bank at entry and to the geographic distance of the home-country to London. We also find that higher global economic activity increases the likelihood of international banking operations continuing in London; however, the more volatile the global economic environment, the greater the prospect of a cessation of this activity