Predicting Gambling Situations: The Roles of Impulsivity, Substance Use, and Post-Traumatic Stress

Gambling disorder and symptoms of post-traumatic stress are highly comorbid. Numerous studies suggest that the presence of one (either disordered gambling or post-traumatic stress) substantially increases the odds of later developing the other. However, little is known about the etiological links between these two domains or the nuances of the comorbidity. Past research has suggested that symptoms of post-traumatic stress might be related to unique motivations for and beliefs about gambling. The present work sought to examine whether or not symptoms of post-traumatic stress might also be related to specific situational vulnerabilities to gambling behaviors. Using a large cross-sectional sample of Internet-using adults in the United States who were primarily recreational gamblers (N = 743; 46% men,  = 36.0, SD = 11.1), as well as an inpatient sample of US Armed Forces veterans seeking treatment for gambling disorder (N = 332, 80% men,  = 53.5, SD = 11.5), the present work tested whether or not symptoms of post-traumatic stress were uniquely related to a variety of gambling situations. Results in both samples revealed that even when controlling for potentially confounding variables (eg, substance use and trait impulsivity), symptoms of post-traumatic stress were uniquely related to gambling in response to negative affect, gambling in response to social pressure, and gambling due to a need for excitement. These findings are consistent with recent work suggesting that individuals with post-traumatic stress symptoms are more likely to engage in gambling behaviors for unique reasons that differ from gamblers without such symptoms

Temperature During Beef Product Transport Impacts Subprimal and Steak Yield

Objective The objective of this study was to determine the impact of ambient temperature during striploin and sirloin transport on moisture loss, color, and tenderness

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Using Thiel Soft-Embalmed Donors to Teach the Female Pelvic Exam to Medical Students

At the Quillen College of Medicine, first year medical students are taught how to perform the female pelvic exam as part of the “Introduction to Physical Exam” course. Our previous research has found that students feel more confident and report a higher level of perceived transferability to live patients when learning the pelvic exam on soft-embalmed donors in comparison to low-fidelity mannequins. Our goal in this project was to incorporate soft-embalmed donors into the curriculum of first year medical students, making this teaching method available to all students, and objectively assess their skills as well as their retention. During the “Introduction to Physical Exam” course, high fidelity soft embalmed donors were available for students to practice the female pelvic exam with instruction from attending physicians. After learning exam techniques, all 67 students were given a survey to assess their confidence, perceived transferability, and preference for either soft embalmed donors or mannequins. They were also invited back the following week to assess their short term retention and ability to accurately perform the pelvic exam, with the option of using communication skills learned elsewhere in the ETSU curriculum. Thirteen students returned for this follow-up session and completed surveys to reassess their experience. We plan to follow this cohort of students throughout their medical school career to assess long term retention. All return participants felt they retained the pelvic exam knowledge learned the week prior, with 61.54% agreeing, and 38.46% strongly agreeing. Most felt prepared to now do a pelvic exam on a live patient (53.85% agreed, 38.46% strongly agreed). Students also reported that feedback on their communication and procedural skills was beneficial to the learning process. The use of high fidelity soft embalmed donors in medical education provides students with a realistic model to learn and become confident in performing pelvic exams. We have seen that this education model helps them retain their knowledge on pelvic exam technique. We look forward to following this cohort of students to see if this retention of knowledge persists into their third year of medical school

Synthesis of Norbornenyl Polymers with Bioactive Oligopeptides by Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization

Synthetic norbornenyl polymers with pendent cell adhesive sequences glycine-arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (GRGD) and serine-arginine-asparagine (SRN) were synthesized by ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) using newly developed ruthenium initiators. Initially, simpler polymers with pendent glycine, alanine, or penta(ethylene glycol) (EO_5) units attached directly or through ethyl and propyl spacers to various norbornenyl backbones were synthesized using Ru CHPh(Cl)_2(PCy_3)_2 (1) as the initiator. The molecular weights, PDI's, polymerization times, yields, and glass transition temperatures were compared for these polymers. As a result of this comparison, poly(5-norbornene-2-carboxyl) was chosen as the backbone for the more complex oligopeptide containing polymers, and norbornene monomers with pendent EO_5 (21), GRGD (24), and SRN (25) units were made. Monomers 21 and 24 were copolymerized to form a poly(norbornene) containing 9.2 mol % GRGD (26a) using 1 as the initiator. However, incorporating larger amounts of GRGD resulted in extremely low yields of polymers that exhibited bimodal molecular weight distributions. Homopolymers and copolymers with larger amounts of GRGD and SRN were synthesized in good yields (32−92%) with monomodal molecular weight distributions using the newly developed, more active, 2,3-dihydroimidazolylidene initiators, Ru CHPh(Cl)_2(PCy_3)(DHIMes) (2) and Ru CH−CH C(CH_3)_2(Cl)_2(PCp_3)(DHIMes) (3). In this way, EO_5 containing copolymers with 49 mol % GRGD (26b), 53 mol % SRN (27b), or 32 mol % GRGD and 21 mol % SRN (28a) were synthesized, as well as copolymer 28b with 53 mol % GRGD and 47 mol % SRN. To alter the presentation of the GRGD, an EO_5 containing copolymer with a propyl spacer between the GRGD and the backbone (30) was also synthesized

Inhibition of Cell Adhesion to Fibronectin by Oligopeptide-Substituted Polynorbornenes

Polynorbornenes substituted with two different peptide sequences from the RGD-containing integrin cell-binding domain of fibronectin are potent inhibitors of human foreskin fibroblast cell adhesion to fibronectin-coated surfaces. Ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) using Ru═CHPh(Cl)_2(PCy_3)(DHIMes) (1) as an initiator produced polymers substituted with GRGDS and PHSRN peptide sequences. The inhibitory activity was quantified for these polymers and compared to the free peptides and GRGES-containing controls. A homopolymer substituted with GRGDS peptides was significantly more active than the free GRGDS peptide (IC_(50) of 0.18 ± 0.03 and 1.33 ± 0.20 mM respectively), and the copolymer containing both GRGDS and PHSRN is the most potent inhibitor (IC_(50) of 0.04 ± 0.01 mM). These results demonstrate that significant enhancements of observed biological activity can be obtained from polymeric materials containing more than one type of multivalent ligand and that ROMP is a useful method to synthesize such well-defined copolymers

Body fatness during childhood and adolescence and incidence of breast cancer in premenopausal women: a prospective cohort study

INTRODUCTION: Body mass index (BMI) during adulthood is inversely related to the incidence of premenopausal breast cancer, but the role of body fatness earlier in life is less clear. We examined prospectively the relation between body fatness during childhood and adolescence and the incidence of breast cancer in premenopausal women. METHODS: Participants were 109,267 premenopausal women in the Nurses' Health Study II who recalled their body fatness at ages 5, 10 and 20 years using a validated 9-level figure drawing. Over 12 years of follow up, 1318 incident cases of breast cancer were identified. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to compute relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for body fatness at each age and for average childhood (ages 5–10 years) and adolescent (ages 10–20 years) fatness. RESULTS: Body fatness at each age was inversely associated with premenopausal breast cancer incidence; the multivariate RRs were 0.48 (95% CI 0.35–0.55) and 0.57 (95% CI 0.39–0.83) for the most overweight compared with the most lean in childhood and adolescence, respectively (P for trend < 0.0001). The association for childhood body fatness was only slightly attenuated after adjustment for later BMI, with a multivariate RR of 0.52 (95% CI 0.38–0.71) for the most overweight compared with the most lean (P for trend = 0.001). Adjustment for menstrual cycle characteristics had little impact on the association. CONCLUSION: Greater body fatness during childhood and adolescence is associated with reduced incidence of premenopausal breast cancer, independent of adult BMI and menstrual cycle characteristics

Drivers of reef shark abundance and biomass in the Solomon Islands

Remote island nations face a number of challenges in addressing concerns about shark population status, including access to rigorously collected data and resources to manage fisheries. At present, very little data are available on shark populations in the Solomon Islands and scientific surveys to document shark and ray diversity and distribution have not been completed. We aimed to provide a baseline of the relative abundance and diversity of reef sharks and rays and assess the major drivers of reef shark abundance/biomass in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands using stereo baited remote underwater video. On average reef sharks were more abundant than in surrounding countries such as Fiji and Indonesia, yet below that of remote islands without historical fishing pressure, suggesting populations are relatively healthy but not pristine. We also assessed the influence of location, habitat type/complexity, depth and prey biomass on reef shark abundance and biomass. Location was the most important factor driving reef shark abundance and biomass with two times the abundance and a 43% greater biomass of reef sharks in the more remote locations, suggesting fishing may be impacting sharks in some areas. Our results give a much needed baseline and suggest that reef shark populations are still relatively unexploited, providing an opportunity for improved management of sharks and rays in the Solomon Islands

Predicting Gambling Situations: The Roles of Impulsivity, Substance Use, and Post Traumatic Stress

Gambling disorder and symptoms of post-traumatic stress are highly comorbid. Numerous studies suggest that the presence of one (either disordered gambling or post-traumatic stress) substantially increases the odds of later developing the other. However, little is known about the etiological links between these two domains or the nuances of the comorbidity. Past research has suggested that symptoms of post-traumatic stress might be related to unique motivations for and beliefs about gambling. The present work sought to examine whether or not symptoms of post-traumatic stress might also be related to specific situational vulnerabilities to gambling behaviors. Using a large cross-sectional sample of internet-using adults in the U.S. who were primarily recreational gamblers (N = 589; 43% men, Mage = 36.1, SD = 11.0), as well as an inpatient sample of U.S. Armed Forces veterans seeking treatment for gambling disorder (N = 332, 80% men, Mage = 53.5, SD = 11.5), the present work tested whether or not symptoms of post-traumatic stress were uniquely related to a variety of gambling situations. Results in both samples revealed that, even when controlling for potentially confounding variables (e.g., substance use and trait impulsivity), symptoms of post-traumatic stress were uniquely related to gambling in response to negative affect, gambling in response to social pressure, and gambling due to a need for excitement. These findings are consistent with recent work suggesting that individuals with post-traumatic stress symptoms are more likely to engage in gambling behaviors for unique reasons that differ from gamblers without such symptoms