Understanding Rates of Marijuana Use and Consequences Among Adolescents in a Changing Legal Landscape.

Purpose of Review:There is not one answer to address whether marijuana use has increased, decreased, or stayed the same given changes in state legalization of medical and non-medical marijuana in the USA. Recent Findings:Evidence suggests some health benefits for medical marijuana; however, initiation of marijuana use is a risk factor for developing problem cannabis use. Though use rates have remained stable over recent years, about one in three 10th graders report marijuana use, most adolescents do not view the drug as harmful, and over 650,000 youth aged 12 to 17 struggle with cannabis use disorder. Summary:Although the health benefits of medical marijuana are becoming better understood, more research is needed. Intervention and prevention programs must better address effects of marijuana, acknowledging that while there may be some benefits medically, marijuana use can affect functioning during adolescence when the brain is still developing

Probing prejudice with startle eyeblink modification: A marker of attention, emotion, or both?

In social neuroscience research, startle eyeblink modification can serve as a marker of emotion, but it is less clear whether it can also serve as a marker of prejudice. In Experiment 1, 30 White students viewed photographs of White and Black targets while the startle eyeblink reflex and facial EMG from the brow and cheek regions were recorded. Prejudice was related to facial EMG activity, but not to startle modification, which instead appeared to index attention to race. To test further whether racial categorizations are associated with differential attention, a dual-task paradigm was used in Experiment 2. Fifty-four White and fifty-five Black participants responded more slowly to a tone presented when viewing a racial outgroup member or a negative stimulus, indicating that both draw more attention than ingroup members or positive stimuli. We conclude that startle modification is useful to index differential attention to groups when intergroup threat is low

Superconductor-insulator transition in granular Pb films near a superconducting ground plane

We report observations of the zero-field superconductor-insulator transition in granular quench-condensed Pb for samples within 10-15 nm of relatively thick superconducting ground planes. Resistance vs temperature measurements of sufficiently thick Pb samples exhibit broadened superconductor transitions consistent with previous results on clean dielectric substrates. The lack of any measurable influence by the superconducting planes on the Pb film resistance is discussed within the context of zero-field vortex-antivortex unbinding explanations for the transition broadening

The effects of purchasing alcohol and marijuana among adolescents at-risk for future substance use

BACKGROUND: Among high-risk youth, those who may be at increased risk for adverse alcohol and other drug (AOD) use outcomes may benefit from targeted prevention efforts; how youth acquire AOD may provide an objective means of identifying youth at elevated risk. METHODS: We assessed how youth acquired alcohol and marijuana (purchasing vs. other means), demographics, AOD behaviors/consequences, and environment among adolescents referred to a diversion program called Teen Court (N = 180) at two time points (prior to the program and 180 days from baseline). Participants were predominantly White and Hispanic/Latino(a). RESULTS: In cross-sectional analyses among alcohol and marijuana users, purchasing marijuana was associated with more frequent marijuana use and consequences, time spent around teens who use marijuana, higher likelihood of substance use disorders, and lower resistance self-efficacy compared to non-purchasers. Teens who purchased both alcohol and marijuana experienced similar outcomes to those who purchased only marijuana, and also reported more frequent and higher quantity of drinking, greater alcohol-related consequences, time spent around teens who use other drugs, and prescription drug misuse. Longitudinally, purchasing alcohol and marijuana at baseline was associated with more frequent and higher quantity of drinking compared to non-purchasers at follow-up. Marijuana only purchasers had a greater likelihood of substance use disorders at follow-up compared to non-purchasers. CONCLUSIONS: In an era where drinking is commonplace and attitudes towards marijuana use are becoming more tolerant, it is essential to evaluate how accessibility to AOD and subsequent purchasing behaviors affect youth consumption and intervene accordingly to prevent future consequences

A Presentation of the Religious Content on the Most Visited Croatian Internet Portals

Kompleksan međuodnos religije i medija predmet je zanimanja brojnih teoretičara. Stavivši u središte svoga interesa religiju u medijima (u smislu pojavljivanja i prezentacije institucionalnih religija u medijima), nastojalo se dobiti uvid u način na koji je ona predstavljana na trima najposjećenijim hrvatskim mrežnim portalima (24sata.hr, Index.hr i Net.hr) prema podacima koje je Gemius iznio za Hrvatsku. Istraživanja su pokazala da hrvatski građani imaju najviše povjerenja u informacije objavljene na mreži, a ako se tomu pridoda da je 63% građana Hrvatske starije od 15 godina 2011. rabilo mrežu (podaci istraživanja GfK centra), jasno je da su hrvatski mrežni portali važan čimbenik u oblikovanju javne sfere i hrvatske društvene stvarnosti. S druge strane, činjenica je i da zbog pritiska radi povećanja posjećenosti, što u konačnici rezultira povećanjem profita, mrežni portali pribjegavaju tabloidizaciji sadržaja, negativizmu, banalnim i šokantnim vijestima. Svrha je ovoga rada utvrditi na koji se način na najposjećenijim hrvatskim portalima predstavlja religijski sadržaj. Cilj je bio analizirati priloge o religiji koji su objavljivani na naslovnoj stranici triju najposjećenijih hrvatskih mrežnih portala. Analizom sadržaja njihovih naslovnica u razdoblju od 20. studenoga do 20. prosinca 2012. godine nastojalo se utvrditi koliko se tabloidni pristup novinarstvu odnosi na religijske sadržaje, odnosno koja su osnovna obilježja priloga s religijskom tematikom.The complex interplay between religion and the media is the subject of interest of many theorists. Thus, by focusing on the topic of religion in the media (in terms of appearance and presentation of institutional religion in the media), we have tried to gain insight into the way in which religion is presented on the three most visited Croatian Internet portals (24sata.hr, Index.hr and Net.hr, according to the GemiusAudience data for Croatia). Studies have shown that Croatian citizens place most of their confidence in the information available on the Internet. Also, 63% of Croatian citizens above the age of 15 availed themselves of the Internet in 2011 according to GfK research. It is clear therefore that Croatian Internet portals are an important factor in shaping the public sphere as well as Croatian social reality. On the other hand, due to the pressure for increased usage, ultimately resulting in increased profits, the fact remains that Internet portals have resorted to the tabloidization of content, negativism and reporting of banal and shocking news. The purpose of this article was to determine the way in which religious content is presented on the three most visited Croatian Internet portals. The aim was to analyze religious articles published on the front page of these portals with regard to the period between November 20 to December 20, 2012, and in so doing to try to determine in how far the tabloid approach to journalism applies to religious content, that is, to determine the main features of articles with religious themes

Far Ultraviolet Spectra of B Stars near the Ecliptic

Spectra of B stars in the wavelength range of 911-1100 A have been obtained with the EURD spectrograph onboard the Spanish satellite MINISAT-01 with ~5 A spectral resolution. IUE spectra of the same stars have been used to normalize Kurucz models to the distance, reddening and spectral type of the corresponding star. The comparison of 8 main-sequence stars studied in detail (alpha Vir, epsilon Tau, lambda Tau, tau Tau, alpha Leo, zeta Lib, theta Oph, and sigma Sgr) shows agreement with Kurucz models, but observed fluxes are 10-40% higher than the models in most cases. The difference in flux between observations and models is higher in the wavelength range between Lyman alpha and Lyman beta. We suggest that Kurucz models underestimate the FUV flux of main-sequence B stars between these two Lyman lines. Computation of flux distributions of line-blanketed model atmospheres including non-LTE effects suggests that this flux underestimate could be due to departures from LTE, although other causes cannot be ruled out. We found the common assumption of solar metallicity for young disk stars should be made with care, since small deviations can have a significant impact on FUV model fluxes. Two peculiar stars (rho Leo and epsilon Aqr), and two emission line stars (epsilon Cap and pi Aqr) were also studied. Of these, only epsilon Aqr has a flux in agreement with the models. The rest have strong variability in the IUE range and/or uncertain reddening, which makes the comparison with models difficult.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figures, to be published in The Astrophysical Journa

Nonhierarchical Dispersal Promotes Stability and Resilience in a Tritrophic Metacommunity

Community interactions (e.g., predation, competition) can be characterized by two factors: their strengths and how they are structured between and within species. Both factors play a role in determining community dynamics. In addition to trophic interactions, dispersal acts as an interaction between separate populations. As with other interactions, the structure of dispersal can affect the stability of a system. However, the primary structure that has been studied in consumer-resource models has been hierarchical dispersal, where between-patch dispersal rates increase with trophic level. Here we use analytical, numerical, and simulation approaches on a two-patch, three-species metacommunity model to investigate the relationship between structure and community stability and resilience. We show that metacommunity stability is greater in systems with both weak and strong dispersal rates. Our system is stabilized by the formation of patterns when predators disperse frequently and herbivores disperse rarely, and via asynchrony when both predators and herbivores disperse infrequently. Our results show how interaction strengths within both trophic and spatial networks shape metacommunity stability

Validity of Type D personality in Iceland: association with disease severity and risk markers in cardiac patients

Type D personality has been associated with poor prognosis in cardiac patients. This study investigated the validity of the Type D construct in Iceland and its association with disease severity and health-related risk markers in cardiac patients. A sample of 1,452 cardiac patients completed the Type D scale (DS14), and a subgroup of 161 patients completed measurements for the five-factor model of personality, emotional control, anxiety, depression, stress and lifestyle factors. The Icelandic DS14 had good psychometric properties and its construct validity was confirmed. Prevalence of Type D was 26–29%, and assessment of Type D personality was not confounded by severity of underlying coronary artery disease. Regarding risk markers, Type D patients reported more psychopharmacological medication use and smoking, but frequency of previous mental problems was similar across groups. Type D is a valid personality construct in Iceland, and is associated with health-related risk markers, but not cardiac disease severity

Drivers of plant traits that allow survival in wetlands

Plants have developed a suite of traits to survive the anaerobic and anoxic soil conditions in wetlands. Previous studies on wetland plant adaptive traits have focused mainly on physiological aspects under experimental conditions, or compared the trait expression of the local species pool. Thus, a comprehensive analysis of potential factors driving wetland plant adaptive traits under natural environmental conditions is still missing.In this study, we analysed three important wetland adaptive traits, i.e. root porosity, root/shoot ratio and underwater photosynthetic rate, to explore driving factors using a newly compiled dataset of wetland plants. Based on 21 studies at 38 sites across different biomes, we found that root porosity was affected by an interaction of temperature and hydrological regime; root:shoot ratio was affected by temperature, precipitation and habitat type; and underwater photosynthetic rate was affected by precipitation and life form. This suggests that a variety of driving mechanisms affect the expression of different adaptive traits.The quantitative relationships we observed between the adaptive traits and their driving factors will be a useful reference for future global methane and denitrification modelling studies. Our results also stress that besides the traditionally emphasized hydrological driving factors, other factors at several spatial scales should also be taken into consideration in the context of future functional wetland ecology.Environmental Biolog

Explaining Myanmar's Regime Transition: The Periphery is Central

In 2010, Myanmar (Burma) held its first elections after 22 years of direct military rule. Few compelling explanations for this regime transition have emerged. This article critiques popular accounts and potential explanations generated by theories of authoritarian ‘regime breakdown’ and ‘regime maintenance’. It returns instead to the classical literature on military intervention and withdrawal. Military regimes, when not terminated by internal factionalism or external unrest, typically liberalise once they feel they have sufficiently addressed the crises that prompted their seizure of power. This was the case in Myanmar. The military intervened for fear that political unrest and ethnic-minority separatist insurgencies would destroy Myanmar’s always-fragile territorial integrity and sovereignty. Far from suddenly liberalising in 2010, the regime sought to create a ‘disciplined democracy’ to safeguard its preferred social and political order twice before, but was thwarted by societal opposition. Its success in 2010 stemmed from a strategy of coercive state-building and economic incorporation via ‘ceasefire capitalism’, which weakened and co-opted much of the opposition. Having altered the balance of forces in its favour, the regime felt sufficiently confident to impose its preferred settlement. However, the transition neither reflected total ‘victory’ for the military nor secured a genuine or lasting peace