Long-Term Follow-Up of a High School Alcohol Misuse Prevention Program's Effect on Students' Subsequent Driving

Alcohol-related injuries, particularly motor vehicle, are an important cause of adolescent mortality. School-based alcohol prevention programs have not been evaluated in terms of driving outcomes. This study examined the effects on subsequent driving of a high school-based alcohol prevention program. Methods : The Alcohol Misuse Prevention Study included a randomized test of the effectiveness of an alcohol misuse prevention curriculum conducted among 4635 10th-grade students. Students were assigned to intervention ( n = 1820) or control ( n = 2815) groups and were followed for an average of 7.6 years after licensure, which typically occurred during or shortly after 10th grade. Outcomes examined included alcohol-related and other serious offenses, and at-fault, single-vehicle, and alcohol-related crashes. Results : Only serious offenses (which included alcohol-related) had a significant treatment effect (statistically marginal) after we adjusted for sex, age, race, alcohol use/misuse, family structure, presence of prelicense offenses, age of driver licensure, and parental attitudes toward teen drinking. The effect was found only during the first year of licensure (estimated adjusted relative risk = 0.80, confidence interval = 0.63–1.01). Two first-year serious offense interactions were found. The positive effect was strongest among the largest subgroup of students, those who were drinking less than one drink per week on average before the curriculum, compared with those who drank more than one drink per week ( p = 0.009). The effect was also stronger for the small subgroup of students whose parents had not expressed disapproval of teens’ drinking, compared with those whose parents had disapproved ( p = 0.004). Conclusions : These findings suggest that a high school-based alcohol prevention program can positively affect subsequent driving, particularly that of students who do not use alcohol regularly. The results highlight the need to start prevention efforts early and extend them beyond the initial exposure to driving. Programs should incorporate the differing backgrounds of the students.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65493/1/j.1530-0277.2001.tb02227.x.pd

Sensation of presence and cybersickness in applications of virtual reality for advanced rehabilitation

Around three years ago, in the special issue on augmented and virtual reality in rehabilitation, the topics of simulator sickness was briefly discussed in relation to vestibular rehabilitation. Simulator sickness with virtual reality applications have also been referred to as visually induced motion sickness or cybersickness. Recently, study on cybersickness has been reported in entertainment, training, game, and medical environment in several journals. Virtual stimuli can enlarge sensation of presence, but they sometimes also evoke unpleasant sensation. In order to safely apply augmented and virtual reality for long-term rehabilitation treatment, sensation of presence and cybersickness should be appropriately controlled. This issue presents the results of five studies conducted to evaluate visually-induced effects and speculate influences of virtual rehabilitation. In particular, the influence of visual and vestibular stimuli on cardiovascular responses are reported in terms of academic contribution

On the Importance of Countergradients for the Development of Retinotopy: Insights from a Generalised Gierer Model

During the development of the topographic map from vertebrate retina to superior colliculus (SC), EphA receptors are expressed in a gradient along the nasotemporal retinal axis. Their ligands, ephrin-As, are expressed in a gradient along the rostrocaudal axis of the SC. Countergradients of ephrin-As in the retina and EphAs in the SC are also expressed. Disruption of any of these gradients leads to mapping errors. Gierer's (1981) model, which uses well-matched pairs of gradients and countergradients to establish the mapping, can account for the formation of wild type maps, but not the double maps found in EphA knock-in experiments. I show that these maps can be explained by models, such as Gierer's (1983), which have gradients and no countergradients, together with a powerful compensatory mechanism that helps to distribute connections evenly over the target region. However, this type of model cannot explain mapping errors found when the countergradients are knocked out partially. I examine the relative importance of countergradients as against compensatory mechanisms by generalising Gierer's (1983) model so that the strength of compensation is adjustable. Either matching gradients and countergradients alone or poorly matching gradients and countergradients together with a strong compensatory mechanism are sufficient to establish an ordered mapping. With a weaker compensatory mechanism, gradients without countergradients lead to a poorer map, but the addition of countergradients improves the mapping. This model produces the double maps in simulated EphA knock-in experiments and a map consistent with the Math5 knock-out phenotype. Simulations of a set of phenotypes from the literature substantiate the finding that countergradients and compensation can be traded off against each other to give similar maps. I conclude that a successful model of retinotopy should contain countergradients and some form of compensation mechanism, but not in the strong form put forward by Gierer

Physiological and Biomechanical Responses of Highly Trained Distance Runners to Lower-Body Positive Pressure Treadmill Running

Background: As a way to train at faster running speeds, add training volume, prevent injury, or rehabilitate after an injury, lower-body positive pressure treadmills (LBPPT) have become increasingly commonplace among athletes. However, there are conflicting evidence and a paucity of data describing the physiological and biomechanical responses to LBPPT running in highly trained or elite caliber runners at the running speeds they habitually train at, which are considerably faster than those of recreational runners. Furthermore, data is lacking regarding female runners’ responses to LBPPT running. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the physiological and biomechanical responses to LBPPT running in highly trained male and female distance runners. Methods: Fifteen highly trained distance runners (seven male; eight female) completed a single running test composed of 4 × 9-min interval series at fixed percentages of body weight ranging from 0 to 30% body weight support (BWS) in 10% increments on LBPPT. The first interval was always conducted at 0% BWS; thereafter, intervals at 10, 20, and 30% BWS were conducted in random order. Each interval consisted of three stages of 3 min each, at velocities of 14.5, 16.1, and 17.7 km·h−1 for men and 12.9, 14.5, and 16.1 km·h−1 for women. Expired gases, ventilation, breathing frequency, heart rate (HR), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and stride characteristics were measured during each running speed and BWS. Results: Male and female runners had similar physiological and biomechanical responses to running on LBPPT. Increasing BWS increased stride length (p \u3c 0.02) and flight duration (p \u3c 0.01) and decreased stride rate (p \u3c 0.01) and contact time (p \u3c 0.01) in small-large magnitudes. There was a large attenuation of oxygen consumption (VO2) relative to BWS (p \u3c 0.001), while there were trivial-moderate reductions in respiratory exchange ratio, minute ventilation, and respiratory frequency (p \u3e 0.05), and small-large effects on HR and RPE (p \u3c 0.01). There were trivial-small differences in VE, respiratory frequency, HR, and RPE for a given VO2 across various BWS (p \u3e 0.05). Conclusions: The results indicate the male and female distance runners have similar physiological and biomechanical responses to LBPPT running. Overall, the biomechanical changes during LBPPT running all contributed to less metabolic cost and corresponding physiological changes. Keywords: AlterG, Lower-body positive pressure, Body weight support, Anti-gravity, Running, Stride characteristics, Physiological characteristics, Metabolic demand, Oxygen demand, Oxygen cos

Beliefs and practices of patients with advanced cancer: implications for communication

The aim of this study was to investigate the beliefs that patients with advanced cancer held about the curability of their cancer, their use of alternatives to conventional medical treatment, and their need to have control over decisions about treatment. Of 149 patients who fulfilled the criteria for participation and completed a self-administered questionnaire, 45 patients (31%) believed their cancer was incurable, 61 (42%) were uncertain and 39 (27%) believed their cancer was curable. The index of need for control over treatment decisions was low in 53 patients (35.6%) and high in only 17 patients (11.4%). Committed users of alternatives to conventional medical treatments were more likely to believe that their cancer was curable (

ALMA spectral survey of Supernova 1987A-molecular inventory, chemistry, dynamics and explosive nucleosynthesis

We report the first molecular line survey of Supernova 1987A in the millimetre wavelength range. In the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) 210–300 and 340–360 GHz spectra, we detected cold (20–170 K) CO, 28SiO, HCO+ and SO, with weaker lines of 29SiO from ejecta. This is the first identification of HCO+ and SO in a young supernova remnant. We find a dip in the J = 6–5 and 5–4 SiO line profiles, suggesting that the ejecta morphology is likely elongated. The difference of the CO and SiO line profiles is consistent with hydrodynamic simulations, which show that Rayleigh–Taylor instabilities cause mixing of gas, with heavier elements much more disturbed, making more elongated structure. We obtained isotopologue ratios of 28SiO/29SiO > 13, 28SiO/30SiO > 14 and 12CO/13CO > 21, with the most likely limits of 28SiO/29SiO >128, 28SiO/30SiO >189. Low 29Si and 30Si abundances in SN 1987A are consistent with nucleosynthesis models that show inefficient formation of neutron-rich isotopes in a low-metallicity environment, such as the Large Magellanic Cloud. The deduced large mass of HCO+ (∼5 × 10−6 M⊙) and small SiS mass (<6 × 10−5 M⊙) might be explained by some mixing of elements immediately after the explosion. The mixing might have caused some hydrogen from the envelope to sink into carbon- and oxygen-rich zones after the explosion, enabling the formation of a substantial mass of HCO+. Oxygen atoms may have penetrated into silicon and sulphur zones, suppressing formation of SiS. Our ALMA observations open up a new window to investigate chemistry, dynamics and explosive nucleosynthesis in supernovae

Analysis of copy number variation at DMBT1 and age-related macular degeneration

BACKGROUND: DMBT1 is a gene that shows extensive copy number variation (CNV) that alters the number of bacteria-binding domains in the protein and has been shown to activate the complement pathway. It lies next to the ARMS2/HTRA1 genes in a region of chromosome 10q26, where single nucleotide variants have been strongly associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the commonest cause of blindness in Western populations. Complement activation is thought to be a key factor in the pathogenesis of this condition. We sought to investigate whether DMBT1 CNV plays any role in the susceptibility to AMD. METHODS: We analysed long-range linkage disequilibrium of DMBT1 CNV1 and CNV2 with flanking single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using our previously published CNV and HapMap Phase 3 SNP data in the CEPH Europeans from Utah (CEU). We then typed a large cohort of 860 AMD patients and 419 examined age-matched controls for copy number at DMBT1 CNV1 and CNV2 and combined these data with copy numbers from a further 480 unexamined controls. RESULTS: We found weak linkage disequilibrium between DMBT1 CNV1 and CNV2 with the SNPs rs1474526 and rs714816 in the HTRA1/ARMS2 region. By directly analysing copy number variation, we found no evidence of association of CNV1 or CNV2 with AMD. CONCLUSIONS: We have shown that copy number variation at DMBT1 does not affect risk of developing age-related macular degeneration and can therefore be ruled out from future studies investigating the association of structural variation at 10q26 with AMD