A Longitudinal Study of Medicaid Coverage for Tobacco Dependence Treatments in Massachusetts and Associated Decreases in Hospitalizations for Cardiovascular Disease

Thomas Land and colleagues show that among Massachusetts Medicaid subscribers, use of a comprehensive tobacco cessation pharmacotherapy benefit was followed by a substantial decrease in claims for hospitalizations for acute myocardial infarction and acute coronary heart disease

Contextualizing students' alcohol use perceptions and practices within French culture: an analysis of gender and drinking among sport-science college students

Although research has examined alcohol consumption and sport in a variety of contexts, there is a paucity of research on gender and gender dynamics among French college students. The present study addresses this gap in the literature by examining alcohol use practices by men and women among a non-probability sample of French sport science students from five different universities in Northern France. We utilized both survey data (N = 534) and in-depth qualitative interviews (n = 16) to provide empirical and theoretical insight into a relatively ubiquitous health concern: the culture of intoxication. Qualitative data were based on students’ perceptions of their own alcohol use; analysis were framed by theoretical conceptions of gender. Survey results indicate gender differences in alcohol consumption wherein men reported a substantially higher frequency and quantity of alcohol use compared to their female peers. Qualitative findings confirm that male privilege and women’s concern for safety, masculine embodiment via alcohol use, gendering of alcohol type, and gender conformity pressures shape gender disparities in alcohol use behavior. Our findings also suggest that health education policy and educational programs focused on alcohol-related health risks need to be designed to take into account gender category and gender orientation

Investigating the Effect of Galaxy Interactions on the Enhancement of Active Galactic Nuclei at 0.5 < z < 3.0

Galaxy interactions and mergers are thought to play an important role in the evolution of galaxies. Studies in the nearby universe show a higher AGN fraction in interacting and merging galaxies than their isolated counterparts, indicating that such interactions are important contributors to black hole growth. To investigate the evolution of this role at higher redshifts, we have compiled the largest known sample of major spectroscopic galaxy pairs (2381 with $\Delta V <5000$ km s$^{-1}$) at $0.5<z<3.0$ from observations in the COSMOS and CANDELS surveys. We identify X-ray and IR AGN among this kinematic pair sample, a visually identified sample of mergers and interactions, and a mass-, redshift-, and environment-matched control sample for each in order to calculate AGN fractions and the level of AGN enhancement as a function of relative velocity, redshift, and X-ray luminosity. While we see a slight increase in AGN fraction with decreasing projected separation, overall, we find no significant enhancement relative to the control sample at any separation. In the closest projected separation bin ($<25$ kpc, $\Delta V <1000$ km s$^{-1}$), we find enhancements of a factor of 0.94$^{+0.21}_{-0.16}$ and 1.00$^{+0.58}_{-0.31}$ for X-ray and IR-selected AGN, respectively. While we conclude that galaxy interactions do not significantly enhance AGN activity on average over $0.5<z<3.0$ at these separations, given the errors and the small sample size at the closest projected separations, our results would be consistent with the presence of low-level AGN enhancement

Investigating the Effect of Galaxy Interactions on Star Formation at 0.5 < z < 3.0

Observations and simulations of interacting galaxies and mergers in the local universe have shown that interactions can significantly enhance the star formation rates (SFRs) and fueling of active galactic nuclei (AGN). However, at higher redshift, some simulations suggest that the level of star formation enhancement induced by interactions is lower due to the higher gas fractions and already increased SFRs in these galaxies. To test this, we measure the SFR enhancement in a total of 2351 (1327) massive (M * > 1010 M ⊙) major (1 < M 1/M 2 < 4) spectroscopic galaxy pairs at 0.5 < z < 3.0 with ΔV < 5000 km s−1 (1000 km s−1) and projected separation <150 kpc selected from the extensive spectroscopic coverage in the COSMOS and CANDELS fields. We find that the highest level of SFR enhancement is a factor of 1.23 − 0.09 + 0.08 in the closest projected separation bin (<25 kpc) relative to a stellar mass-, redshift-, and environment-matched control sample of isolated galaxies. We find that the level of SFR enhancement is a factor of ∼1.5 higher at 0.5 < z < 1 than at 1 < z < 3 in the closest projected separation bin. Among a sample of visually identified mergers, we find an enhancement of a factor of 1.86 − 0.18 + 0.29 (∼3σ) for coalesced systems. For this visually identified sample, we see a clear trend of increased SFR enhancement with decreasing projected separation (2.40 − 0.37 + 0.62 versus 1.58 − 0.20 + 0.29 for 0.5 < z < 1.6 and 1.6 < z < 3.0, respectively). The SFR enhancements seen in our interactions and mergers are all lower than the level seen in local samples at the same separation, suggesting that the level of interaction-induced star formation evolves significantly over this time period

Measurement of Trilinear Gauge Couplings in e+e−e^+ e^- Collisions at 161 GeV and 172 GeV

Trilinear gauge boson couplings are measured using data taken by DELPHI at 161~GeV and 172~GeV. Values for $WWV$ couplings ($V=Z, \gamma$) are determined from a study of the reactions \eeWW\ and \eeWev, using differential distributions from the $WW$ final state in which one $W$ decays hadronically and the other leptonically, and total cross-section data from other channels. Limits are also derived on neutral $ZV\gamma$ couplings from an analysis of the reaction \eegi

Search for neutral heavy leptons produced in ZZ decays

Weak isosinglet Neutral Heavy Leptons (νm) have been searched for using data collected by the DELPHI detector corresponding to 3.3 × 106 hadronic Z0 decays at LEP1. Four separate searches have been performed, for short-lived νm production giving monojet or acollinear jet topologies, and for long-lived νm giving detectable secondary vertices or calorimeter clusters. No indication of the existence of these particles has been found, leading to an upper limit for the branching ratio BR(Z0 → νmν̄) of about 1.3 × 10-6 at 95% confidence level for νm masses between 3.5 and 50 GeV/c2. Outside this range the limit weakens rapidly with the νm mass. The results are also interpreted in terms of limits for the single production of excited neutrinos. © Springer-Verlag 1997

Managerialism and beyond: Discourses of civil society organization and their governance implications

Different disciplinary, theoretical, and empirical lenses have contributed to a kaleidoscopic picture of CSO governance. Most of the time, CSO governance is contrasted with corporate governance in business organizations; only rarely is the broad variety of CSOs taken into account. To widen this perspective, we develop an empirically grounded typology of five discourses of organization in CSOs: managerialist, domestic, professionalist, grassroots, and civic discourse. We argue that each of these discourses gives specific answers to the three core questions of governance: To whom is the CSO accountable, i.e., who are the key actors who need to be protected by governance mechanisms? For what kind of performance is the CSO accountable? And which structures and processes are appropriate to ensure accountability? The way in which different discourses answer these questions provides us with a deeper understanding of the reasons behind the manifold notions of governance in CSOs. (authors' abstract