Casino Self-Exclusion Programmes: A Review of the Issues

Permission to archive accepted author manuscriptCasino self-exclusion is a procedure by which individuals can have themselves banned from entering a casino. One of the purposes of this paper is to present information about the availability and features of these programmes. A second purpose is to make recommendations about how to best operate them based on cross-jurisdictional analysis and lessons from the addiction literature. The first section of the paper describes the typical casino self-exclusion programme, outlining the features common to most policies. The second section provides a detailed overview of the programmes operating in Canada in order to give the reader an appreciation of the procedural variations that exist. The third section discusses the effectiveness of self-exclusion programmes. Finally, the fourth section contains recommendations on ways to improve effectiveness. When properly implemented, self-exclusion can be a valuable tool in helping to curb problem gambling.Ye

Validity of adolescent self report of substance use

Sherpa Romeo green journal. Permission to archive accepted author manuscript.The validity of self-report of substance use was examined in 367 adolescents referred for a substance use assessment between 1996 and 2000. Referrals came from a wide variety of sources, including pediatricians, the courts, social services, as well as self-referred by their parents. Average age of the sample was 15, 52% were male, and 82% were Caucasian. Adolescents were first asked about the details of their substance use by a clinician using a structured interview with established reliability and validity (Adolescent Drug and Alcohol Diagnosis). They were subsequently asked to provide a urine sample, a requirement they were unaware of when being interviewed about their substance use. If the urine sample was deemed valid by the laboratory technician it was analyzed by means of fluorescence polarization immunoassay and paper chromatography. If positive screens were obtained for any substance, the sample was subjected to gas chromatography/mass spectrometry for confirmation and quantification. Biochemical test results were compared to self-report. Overall, 28% (96/338) of the self-reports were not corroborated by urinalysis. Twenty-six percent (56/219) of adolescents who reported nonuse of a substance had a positive urinalysis. More surprisingly, 34% (40/119) of adolescents reporting substance use in the urinalysis detection window had a negative urinalysis. The present study found self-report of substance use in adolescents to only have fair validity. It is recommended that biochemical corroboration be routinely used for this population.Ye

Toxicity of insecticide-bait mixtures to insecticide resistant and susceptible western corn rootworms (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Organophosphate resistant and susceptible populations of the western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte. were subjected to adult feeding bioassays with different combinations of insecticide and a cucurbitacin bait. Five technical grade insecticides (methyl-parathion, carbaryl, fipronil, bifenthrin and indoxacarb) were used in combination with Invite ECTM as the feeding stimulant. Differences in susceptibility to the insecticide/bait combinations were observed among the resistant and susceptible populations for methyl-parathion and carbaryl. Susceptibility to fipronil, bifenthrin and indoxacarb was similar among the resistant and susceptible populations. Assays in which response to the insecticide/bait combination was compared with the bait alone indicated that methyl-parathion and bifenthrin were deterrent when compared to other treatments. These results suggest that the efficacy of Invite as a feeding stimulant in combination with certain insecticides may be compromised by previously identified resistance and by insecticides that antagonize the feeding stimulation of the cucurbitacin bait

Gambling and problem gambling in a sample of university students

University students from southern Alberta (n = 585) were administered a questionnaire to assess their gambling behaviour. Seventy-two percent reported gambling in the past 6 months, with the most common types being lotteries and instant win tickets (44%) and games of skill against other people (34%). Most students who gambled spent very little time and money doing so (median time spent = 1.5 hrs; median amount of money spent = $0). While gambling is an innocuous activity for most, a significant minority of students are heavy gamblers who experience adverse consequences from it. Seven and one-half percent of students were classified as problem or pathological gamblers, a rate significantly higher than in the general Alberta adult population. The characteristics that best differentiated problem gamblers from non-problem gamblers were more positive attitudes toward gambling, ethnicity (41% of Asian gamblers were problem gamblers), university major (kinesiology, education, management), superior ability to calculate gambling odds, and older age.Alberta Gaming Research InstituteYe

Lithographic Patterning of Photoreactive Cell-Adhesive Proteins

We describe a novel, simple method for the photolithographic patterning of cell-adhesive proteins. Intrinsically photoreactive proteins are synthesized in Escherichia coli through incorporation of the non-canonical, photosensitive amino acid para-azidophenylalanine. Upon ultraviolet irradiation at 365 nm, proteins form cross-linked films with elastic moduli that can be tuned by varying the concentration of photoreactive amino acid in the expression medium. Films of these proteins can be directly patterned using standard photolithographic techniques. We demonstrate the utility of this method of protein patterning by creating stable arrays of fibroblast cells on an engineered protein “photoresist”

Structural journey of an insecticidal protein against western corn rootworm

The broad adoption of transgenic crops has revolutionized agriculture. However, resistance to insecticidal proteins by agricultural pests poses a continuous challenge to maintaining crop productivity and new proteins are urgently needed to replace those utilized for existing transgenic traits. We identified an insecticidal membrane attack complex/perforin (MACPF) protein, Mpf2Ba1, with strong activity against the devastating coleopteran pest western corn rootworm (WCR) and a novel site of action. Using an integrative structural biology approach, we determined monomeric, pre-pore and pore structures, revealing changes between structural states at high resolution. We discovered an assembly inhibition mechanism, a molecular switch that activates pre-pore oligomerization upon gut fluid incubation and solved the highest resolution MACPF pore structure to-date. Our findings demonstrate not only the utility of Mpf2Ba1 in the development of biotechnology solutions for protecting maize from WCR to promote food security, but also uncover previously unknown mechanistic principles of bacterial MACPF assembly