Biology, Genetics, and Environment: Underlying Factors Influencing Alcohol Metabolism.

Gene variants encoding several of the alcohol-metabolizing enzymes, alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), are among the largest genetic associations with risk for alcohol dependence. Certain genetic variants (i.e., alleles)--particularly the ADH1B*2, ADH1B*3, ADH1C*1, and ALDH2*2 alleles--have been associated with lower rates of alcohol dependence. These alleles may lead to an accumulation of acetaldehyde during alcohol metabolism, which can result in heightened subjective and objective effects. The prevalence of these alleles differs among ethnic groups; ADH1B*2 is found frequently in northeast Asians and occasionally Caucasians, ADH1B*3 is found predominantly in people of African ancestry, ADH1C*1 varies substantially across populations, and ALDH2*2 is found almost exclusively in northeast Asians. Differences in the prevalence of these alleles may account at least in part for ethnic differences in alcohol consumption and alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, these alleles do not act in isolation to influence the risk of AUD. For example, the gene effects of ALDH2*2 and ADH1B*2 seem to interact. Moreover, other factors have been found to influence the extent to which these alleles affect a person's alcohol involvement, including developmental stage, individual characteristics (e.g., ethnicity, antisocial behavior, and behavioral undercontrol), and environmental factors (e.g., culture, religion, family environment, and childhood adversity)

A Comparative Study of the Decays B→(K,K∗)ℓ+ℓ−B \to (K,K^*) \ell^+ \ell^- in Standard Model and Supersymmetric Theories

Using improved theoretical calculations of the decay form factors in the Light Cone-QCD sum rule approach, we investigate the decay rates, dilepton invariant mass spectra and the forward-backward (FB) asymmetry in the decays $B \to (K,K^*) \ell^+ \ell^-$ ($\ell^\pm =e^\pm,\mu^\pm,\tau^\pm$) in the standard model (SM) and a number of popular variants of the supersymmetric (SUSY) models. Theoretical precision on the differential decay rates and FB-asymmetry is estimated in these theories taking into account various parametric uncertainties. We show that existing data on $B \to X_s \gamma$ and the experimental upper limit on the branching ratio ${\cal B}(B \to K^* \mu^+ \mu^-)$ provide interesting bounds on the coefficients of the underlying effective theory. We argue that the FB-asymmetry in $B \to K^* \ell^+ \ell^-$ constitutes a precision test of the SM and its measurement in forthcoming experiments may reveal new physics. In particular, the presently allowed large-$\tan \beta$ solutions in SUGRA models, as well as more general flavor-violating SUSY models, yield FB-asymmetries which are characteristically different from the corresponding ones in the SM.Comment: 36 pages, 12 figures (require epsfig.sty), 8 Tables, LaTeX2e; subsection 6.4 corrected, minor changes in numerical results, Figures 3 and 9 to 12 modified; submitted to Physical Review

Bankruptcy, the Threshold of Change

Congress is endeavoring to enact comprehensive legislation that will bring many changes to bankruptcy law. It is presently studying two proposed bankruptcy bills: the Commission Bill, proposed by a Congressionally established study commission; and the Judges\u27 Bill, submitted by the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges. The author compares the major significant proposals of these two bills and analyzes their impact on reform of bankruptcy law

Bankruptcy, the Threshold of Change

Congress is endeavoring to enact comprehensive legislation that will bring many changes to bankruptcy law. It is presently studying two proposed bankruptcy bills: the Commission Bill, proposed by a Congressionally established study commission; and the Judges\u27 Bill, submitted by the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges. The author compares the major significant proposals of these two bills and analyzes their impact on reform of bankruptcy law

Finding Their Voice: Co-Teaching, Communication, and Collaboration

How we educate students with disabilities has transformed since the passage of PL 94-142, also known as the Education of All Handicapped Children Act, in 1975. The merging of special education and general education teachers has supported the need for their collaboration and communication to meet the needs of a diverse group of learners. The increased inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms has resulted in the implementation of a service delivery model known as co-teaching. Co-teaching has focused on bringing a general education and special education together in a classroom. Communication and collaboration between educators have been deemed important factors in the success of a co-teaching pair and this research examined how teachers communicate, collaborate, and interact with one another in the classroom and in planning time.The success of co-teaching is contingent on both pairs believing in the importance of co-teaching to support students with and without disabilities as well as a desire to work with one another. The findings of this study indicated that general education teacher continues to lead the curriculum planning and timeline for lessons. Special education teachers support students within the classroom and provide differentiated and accommodated instruction. A key factor in the relationship between a special education and general education teacher’s partnership is the background knowledge that the special education has about students. This background knowledge supports teachers in planning and in the classroom.Ed.D.College of Education, Health & Human ServicesUniversity of Michigan-Dearbornhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/148271/1/JHiller REVISED Final Dissertation 3-11-19 (1).pdfDescription of JHiller REVISED Final Dissertation 3-11-19 (1).pdf : Dissertatio

Subtleties in the beta function calculation of N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories

We investigate some peculiarities in the calculation of the two-loop beta-function of $N=1$ supersymmetric models which are intimately related to the so-called "Anomaly Puzzle". There is an apparent paradox when the computation is performed in the framework of the covariant derivative background field method. In this formalism, it is obtained a finite two-loop effective action, although a non-null coefficient for the beta-function is achieved by means of the renormalized two-point function in the background field. We show that if the standard background field method is used, this two-point function has a divergent part which allows for the calculation of the beta-function via the renormalization constants, as usual. Therefore, we conjecture that this paradox has its origin in the covariant supergraph formalism itself, possibly being an artifact of the rescaling anomaly.Comment: Few misprintings corrected and comments added. To meet the version to be published at European Physical Journal

Supporting the emotional needs of young people in care: a qualitative study of foster carer perspectives

Young people who have been removed from their family home and placed in care have often experienced maltreatment and there is well-developed evidence of poor psychological outcomes. Once in care, foster carers often become the adult who provides day-to-day support, yet we know little about how they provide this support or the challenges to and facilitators of promoting better quality carer-child relationships. The aim of this study was to understand how carers support the emotional needs of the young people in their care and their views on barriers and opportunities for support. Participants were 21 UK foster carers, recruited from a local authority in England. They were predominantly female (86%), aged 42-65 years old and ranged from those who were relatively new to the profession (<12 months' experience) to those with over 30 years of experience as a carer. We ran three qualitative focus groups to gather in-depth information about their views on supporting their foster children's emotional well-being. Participants also completed short questionnaires about their training experiences and sense of competence. Only half of the sample strongly endorsed feeling competent in managing the emotional needs of their foster children. While all had completed extensive training, especially on attachment, diagnosis-specific training for mental health problems (eg, trauma-related distress, depression) was less common. Thematic analysis showed consistent themes around the significant barriers carers faced navigating social care and mental health systems, and mixed views around the best way to support young people, particularly those with complex mental health needs and in relation to reminders of their early experiences. Findings have important implications for practice and policy around carer training and support, as well as for how services support the mental health needs of young people in care

Age, Sex, and Nest Success of Translocated Mountain Quail in Oregon, 2001–2010

We trapped mountain quail (Oreortyx pictus) from relatively abundant populations in southwestern Oregon for re-introduction or augmentation in areas of central and eastern Oregon where they were rare or extirpated. We captured 2,596 mountain quail during 2001–2010 using treadle-style traps, of which 1,430 were released in Oregon; the remaining birds were transferred to Idaho, Nevada, and Washington. Yearlings (hatch-year) comprised 69.6% of the total (n 1⁄4 2,596). Analysis of nuclear DNA from 850 captured quail revealed 50.5% were male. We radiomarked 800 (55.9%) of the quail released in Oregon and monitored them to estimate reproductive success. We located 150 nests in Oregon; at least 1 egg hatched in 110 (73.3%) nests. Average (6 SE) clutch size was 10.2 6 0.2 eggs and average number of chicks hatched from successful nests was 8.3 6 0.3. Sixty-eight nests (45.3%) were incubated exclusively by males, 78 (52.0%) exclusively by females, and 4 (2.7%) by birds of unknown gender. Males incubated slightly larger clutches (11.0 6 0.3) and hatched more eggs than females (5.5 6 0.5). Males also regularly contributed to brood-rearing. The reproductive effort and nest success of translocated mountain quail was comparable to native populations in Oregon. Translocations may be an effective means of restoring mountain quail populations that have been extirpated or augmenting populations that have substantially declined