LONGITUDINAL PROSPECTIVE RELATIONS BETWEEN CANNABIS USE AND SUBSTANCE-FREE ACTIVITIES IN A DIVERSE COMMUNITY SAMPLE OF EMERGING ADULT HEAVY DRINKERS

National drinking and drug use trends suggest emerging adulthood (ages 18-25) is the developmental apex of harmful co-use of alcohol and drugs, with notable recent increases in cannabis use among emerging adults. Many emerging adults naturally begin to reduce harmful alcohol or drug use into their late 20s and 30s, however, a significant subgroup report a developmentally persistent pattern of frequent alcohol and cannabis use. There is evidence that limited access to alternative substance-free reinforcement (SFR) is a risk factor for chronic alcohol and drug misuse, there is a need for longitudinal research that examines changes in patterns of SFR and cannabis use during this developmental window. This study examined baseline associations and dynamic relations between cannabis use and SFR using latent change score modeling over 32-months (five assessment waves) in a community sample of heavy drinking emerging adults (baseline N = 439, Mage = 22.60, 53.8% female, 47.7% White, 41.3% Black). Cannabis use and depressive symptoms were associated with less access to substance-free rewards at baseline. Participants with less household income, other drug use in the past-month, and more recent heavy drinking days reported more cannabis use at baseline. Cannabis use and SFR showed small decreases over study waves and participants with higher baseline cannabis use showed smaller reductions in cannabis use over time and steeper reductions in SFR. Assigned sex and college status influenced the magnitude of change trajectories of SFR (Female: β = -.09, p = .02 Male: β = -.23, p \u3c .001) and cannabis use (Non college: β = -.12, p \u3c.001; College: β = -.22, p \u3c .001), respectively. Contrary to hypotheses, cannabis use was not prospectively associated with subsequent change in substance-free activity engagement across waves, or vice versa. Overall results are consistent with previous research suggesting that cannabis use is associated with less access to SFR, but do not suggest a specific prospective association between these two outcomes in emerging adult heavy drinkers

Benchmarking best manufacturing practices: a study into four sectors of Turkish industry

Reports on a benchmarking study conducted to quantify how well companies operating in various sectors of Turkish industry match up to best practice, both in the practices they adopt and in the operational outcomes that result, and to test the hypothesis that the closer a company is to best practice, the more likely it is for that company to achieve higher business performance. The survey conducted in 1997 and 1998 included 82 companies from the Turkish electronics, cement, automotive sectors and part and component suppliers to the appliance industry. For data gathering. employs the Competitive Strategies and Best Practices Benchmarking Questionnaire, supported ly, some follow-up interviews and one-day site visits. Classifies two small groups of companies as leaders and laggers, depending on how close they were to best practice. Shows that the leaders have performed better than the laggers in adopting best manufacturing practices and in the achievement of high performance La,els. The leaders also have achieved substantially higher business performance than the laggers. Furthermore, observes that large-sized companies outperform the rest both in terms of their success in implementing best manufacturing practices and in achieving high operational outcomes and that there is no appreciable difference between industrial sectors in implementing best manufacturing practices and in achieving high operational outcomes

The Implementation of a Teacher Referral Behavioral Checklist in the Identification of Language Processing Deficits

The identification of language processing deficits has been acknowledged as a difficult task for the speech/language clinician. The literature has cited certain observable behaviors associated with language processing deficits, but these behaviors are often subtle enough to escape detection during routine speech and language screenings. Therefore, many language processing deficits are not identified until after the children have begun to experience academic struggle and/or failure. Several authors (Chalfant & Foster, 1974; Shepherd, 1982; Wiig & Semel, 1980) have suggested that classroom teachers may be useful in aiding speech/language pathologists in identifying these deficits. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a Behavioral Checklist of documented observable behaviors which could be used as a teacher referral form to assist speech/language pathologists in the identification of children with potential language processing deficits. The proposed Behavioral Checklist was completed by the classroom teachers of forty second and third grade subjects. Each subject was then given the Language Processing Test (LPT) (Richard and Hanner, 1985) and the Test of Problem Solving (TOPS) (Zachman, Jorgensen, Huisingh & Barrett, 1984). Each of the forty subjects were reevaluated by their teachers on the Behavioral Checklist three weeks later. Scores were calculated for each of the measurements and compared statistically using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and Multiple Linear Regression. Analysis of the data revealed significant reliability of the proposed Behavioral Checklist (R2= .77). Although the relationship between the Behavioral Checklist and language processing performance on the LPT and TOPS were not found to be statistically significant, an inverse relationship was suggested. These findings indicate that the proposed Behavioral Checklist is a reliable measure for using classroom teachers to observe behaviors associated with potential language processing deficits. Future research needs to re-address the second question to determine the relationship between the Behavioral Checklist and standardized tests used for identifying children with potential language processing deficits

Coagulase-negative staphylococci as a cause of infections related to intravascular prosthetic devices: limitations of present therapy

Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) are an important cause of catheter-related bloodstream infections. This review will shed light on the pathogenesis related to biofilm formation, and will discuss antimicrobial susceptibility of CNS to older and newer antibiotics, as well as therapeutic options

Control of Error Rates in Adaptive Analysis of Orthogonal Saturated Designs

Individual and simultaneous confidence intervals using the data adaptively are constructed for the effects in orthogonal saturated designs under the assumption of effect sparsity. The minimum coverage probabilities of the intervals are equal to the nominal level 1 - α

GSK-3β phosphorylation of functionally distinct tau isoforms has differential, but mild effects

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Tau protein exists as six different isoforms that differ by the inclusion or exclusion of exons 2, 3 and 10. Exon 10 encodes a microtubule binding repeat, thereby resulting in three isoforms with three microtubule binding repeats (3R) and three isoforms that have four microtubule binding repeats (4R). In normal adult brain, the relative amounts of 3R tau and 4R tau are approximately equal. These relative protein levels are preserved in Alzheimer's disease, although in other neurodegenerative tauopathies such as progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal degeneration and Pick's disease, the ratio of 3R:4R is frequently altered. Because tau isoforms are not equally involved in these diseases, it is possible that they either have inherently unique characteristics owing to their primary structures or that post-translational modification, such as phosphorylation, differentially affects their properties.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have determined the effects of phosphorylation by a kinase widely believed to be involved in neurodegenerative processes, glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β), on the microtubule binding and inducer-initiated polymerization of these isoforms in vitro. We have found that each isoform has a unique microtubule binding and polymerization profile that is altered by GSK-3β. GSK-3β phosphorylation had differential effects on the isoforms although there were similarities between isoforms and the effects were generally mild.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results indicate that tau phosphorylation by a single kinase can have isoform specific outcomes. The mild nature of these changes, however, makes it unlikely that differential effects of GSK-3β phosphorylation on the isoforms are causative in neurodegenerative disease. Instead, the inherent differences in the isoform interactions themselves and local conditions in the diseased cells are likely the major determinant of isoform involvement in various neurodegenerative disorders.</p

Universal Behavior of the Resistance Noise across the Metal-Insulator Transition in Silicon Inversion Layers

Studies of low-frequency resistance noise show that the glassy freezing of the two-dimensional (2D) electron system in the vicinity of the metal-insulator transition occurs in all Si inversion layers. The size of the metallic glass phase, which separates the 2D metal and the (glassy) insulator, depends strongly on disorder, becoming extremely small in high-mobility samples. The behavior of the second spectrum, an important fourth-order noise statistic, indicates the presence of long-range correlations between fluctuators in the glassy phase, consistent with the hierarchical picture of glassy dynamics.Comment: revtex4; 4+ pages, 5 figure

High resolution UVES/VLT spectra of white dwarfs observed for the ESO SN Ia Progenitor Survey III. DA white dwarfs

Original article can be found at: http://www.aanda.org/ Copyright The European Southern Observatory (ESO) DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/200912531Context. The ESO Supernova Ia Progenitor Survey (SPY) took high-resolution spectra of more than 1000 white dwarfs and pre-white dwarfs. About two thirds of the stars observed are hydrogen-dominated DA white dwarfs. Here we present a catalog and detailed spectroscopic analysis of the DA stars in the SPY. Aims. Atmospheric parameters effective temperature and surface gravity are determined for normal DAs. Double-degenerate binaries, DAs with magnetic fields or dM companions, are classified and discussed. Methods. The spectra are compared with theoretical model atmospheres using a fitting technique. Results. Our final sample contains 615 DAs, which show only hydrogen features in their spectra, although some are double-degenerate binaries. 187 are new detections or classifications. We also find 10 magnetic DAs (4 new) and 46 DA+dM pairs (10 new).Peer reviewe