Substance Use and Depression Symptomatology: Measurement Invariance of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) among Non-Users and Frequent-Users of Alcohol, Nicotine and Cannabis

Depression is a highly heterogeneous condition, and identifying how symptoms present in various groups may greatly increase our understanding of its etiology. Importantly, Major Depressive Disorder is strongly linked with Substance Use Disorders, which may ameliorate or exacerbate specific depression symptoms. It is therefore quite plausible that depression may present with different symptom profiles depending on an individual’s substance use status. Given these observations, it is important to examine the underlying construct of depression in groups of substance users compared to non-users. In this study we use a non-clinical sample to examine the measurement structure of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) in non-users and frequent-users of various substances. Specifically, measurement invariance was examined across those who do vs. do not use alcohol, nicotine, and cannabis. Results indicate strict factorial invariance across non-users and frequent-users of alcohol and cannabis, and metric invariance across non-users and frequent-users of nicotine. This implies that the factor structure of the BDI-II is similar across all substance use groups

Transfer of Sulfur from IscS to IscU during Fe/S Cluster Assembly

The cysteine desulfurase enzymes NifS and IscS provide sulfur for the biosynthesis of Fe/S proteins. NifU and IscU have been proposed to serve as template or scaffold proteins in the initial Fe/S cluster assembly events, but the mechanism of sulfur transfer from NifS or IscS to NifU or IscU has not been elucidated. We have employed [35S]cysteine radiotracer studies to monitor sulfur transfer between IscS and IscU from Escherichia coli and have used direct binding measurements to investigate interactions between the proteins. IscS catalyzed transfer of 35S from [35S]cysteine to IscU in the absence of additional thiol reagents, suggesting that transfer can occur directly and without involvement of an intermediate carrier. Surface plasmon resonance studies and isothermal titration calorimetry measurements further revealed that IscU binds to IscS with high affinity (Kd ~2 µM) in support of a direct transfer mechanism. Transfer was inhibited by treatment of IscU with iodoacetamide, and 35S was released by reducing reagents, suggesting that transfer of persulfide sulfur occurs to cysteinyl groups of IscU. A deletion mutant of IscS lacking C-terminal residues 376-413 (IscSDelta 376-413) displayed cysteine desulfurase activity similar to the full-length protein but exhibited lower binding affinity for IscU, decreased ability to transfer 35S to IscU, and reduced activity in assays of Fe/S cluster assembly on IscU. The findings with IscSDelta 376-413 provide additional support for a mechanism of sulfur transfer involving a direct interaction between IscS and IscU and suggest that the C-terminal region of IscS may be important for binding IscU

Women in family enterprises in Estonia

This article objective is to give an overview of the women in family enterprises on the basis of theoretical sources and approaches. In order to achieve this goal, an overview of the research findings have been provided, which have analyzed a woman's role in the family business. Family firms and family entrepreneurs have been defined differently by different authors, but what all definitions have in common is the family is involvement in business activities. A family entrepreneur can be both an individual whose entrepreneurial activities involve family members and a company, which was founded by family members. In family entrepreneurships, the members have trust towards each other and they communicate frequently, which will help them to achieve a common goal. The studies reflect predominantly men as family entrepreneurs in whose business activity the family members, including wife and children participate. The European Union has not yet provided a coherent definition of the family business, while increasing the role of women in family businesses in ensuring gender equality and giving importance to the role of the woman as the family entrepreneu

A Twin Study of Early-Childhood Asthma in Puerto Ricans

Background:The relative contributions of genetics and environment to asthma in Hispanics or to asthma in children younger than 3 years are not well understood.Objective:To examine the relative contributions of genetics and environment to early-childhood asthma by performing a longitudinal twin study of asthma in Puerto Rican children ≤3 years old.Methods:678 twin infants from the Puerto Rico Neo-Natal Twin Registry were assessed for asthma at age 1 year, with follow-up data obtained for 624 twins at age 3 years. Zygosity was determined by DNA microsatellite profiling. Structural equation modeling was performed for three phenotypes at ages 1 and 3 years: physician-diagnosed asthma, asthma medication use in the past year, and ≥1 hospitalization for asthma in the past year. Models were additionally adjusted for early-life environmental tobacco smoke exposure, sex, and age.Results:The prevalences of physician-diagnosed asthma, asthma medication use, and hospitalization for asthma were 11.6%, 10.8%, 4.9% at age 1 year, and 34.1%, 40.1%, and 8.5% at 3 years, respectively. Shared environmental effects contributed to the majority of variance in susceptibility to physician-diagnosed asthma and asthma medication use in the first year of life (84%-86%), while genetic effects drove variance in all phenotypes (45%-65%) at age 3 years. Early-life environmental tobacco smoke, sex, and age contributed to variance in susceptibility.Conclusion:Our longitudinal study in Puerto Rican twins demonstrates a changing contribution of shared environmental effects to liability for physician-diagnosed asthma and asthma medication use between ages 1 and 3 years. Early-life environmental tobacco smoke reduction could markedly reduce asthma morbidity in young Puerto Rican children. © 2013 Bunyavanich et al

Hsc66 substrate specificity is directed toward a discrete region of the iron-sulfur cluster template protein IscU

Hsc66 and Hsc20 comprise a specialized chaperone system important for the assembly of iron-sulfur clusters in Escherchia coli. Only a single substrate, the Fe/S template protein IscU, has been identified for the Hsc66/Hsc20 system, but the mechanism by which Hsc66 selectively binds IscU is unknown. We have investigated Hsc66 substrate specificity using phage display and a peptide array of IscU. Screening of a heptameric peptide phage display library revealed that Hsc66 prefers peptides with a centrally located Pro-Pro motif. Using a cellulose-bound peptide array of IscU we determined that Hsc66 interacts specifically with a region (residues 99-103, LPPVK) that is invariant among all IscU family members. A synthetic peptide (ELPPVKIHC) corresponding to IscU residues 98-106 behaves in a similar manner to native IscU, stimulating the ATPase activity of Hsc66 with similar affinity as IscU, preventing Hsc66 suppression of bovine rhodanese aggregation, and interacting with the peptide-binding domain of Hsc66. Unlike native IscU, however, the synthetic peptide is not bound by Hsc20 and does not synergistically stimulate Hsc66 ATPase activity with Hsc20. Our results indicate that Hsc66 and Hsc20 recognize distinct regions of IscU and further suggest that Hsc66 will not bind LPPVK motifs with high affinity in vivo unless they are in the context of native IscU and can be directed to Hsc66 by Hsc20

Valutasikring i norske og svenske børsnoterte selskaper

Denne masterutredingen er en sammenligning av hvordan norske og svenske børsnoterte selskaper forholder seg til valutarisiko. Dette inkluderer hvordan selskapene kartlegger sin valutaeksponering, hvilke metoder de bruker for å sikre eksponeringen og hvilken tidshorisont de sikrer på. I tillegg tar utredningen for seg hvilke forventninger selskapene har til sin respektive sentralbank og dens utøvelse av pengepolitikken. Vi sendte ut en kvalitativ spørreundersøkelse til 400 norske og svenske børsnoterte selskaper, og svarene fra 82 respondenter ligger til grunn i vår analyse. For å drøfte ytterligere problemstillinger som har dukket opp under analysen, har vi også foretatt to dybdeintervju. Våre viktigste funn i denne utredningen er: - Andelen norske selskaper som bruker valutaderivater har ikke økt etter 2005, men andelen selskaper som sikrer seg mot valutarisiko ved bruk av operasjonelle tiltak har doblet seg. - De norske respondentene tenderer til å ha relativt lengre løpetid på sine valutaderivater enn de svenske. - De norske selskapene i undersøkelsen finner den regnskapsmessige behandlingen av valutaderivater relativt mer utfordrende enn de svenske selskapene. - De svenske selskapene har i større grad enn de norske, offentlig tilgjengelig valutasikringsstrategi og sensitivitetsanalyser av valutakursendringer. - Norske respondenters tilnærming til valutasikringsaktiviteter er i klart flest tilfeller å sikre på ad-hoc basis. Svenske respondenter utfører like gjerne egne analyser av fremtidige valutakursendringer, og sikrer seg deretter. - Norske respondenter er i større grad enn svenske opptatt av sin internasjonale konkurranseevne og forventer relativt mer av sin respektive sentralbank med tanke på opprettholdelse av konkurranseevnen. - Et klart flertall av selskapene fra begge land oppgir å være upåvirket på kort sikt (innen 12mnd) hvis deres sentralbank skulle foreta en uventet endring i styringsrenten på 1 %. Funnene viser at det er noen vesentlige forskjeller mellom hvordan norske og svenske børsnoterte selskaper forholder seg til valutarisiko og hvilke forventninger de har til sin respektive sentralbank

Enhanced Sensorimotor Kinematics of the Baseball Swing in Elite Batters During a Known Pitch Type

The interceptive task of hitting a baseball requires temporal and spatial precision through effective pitch tracking strategies and swing mechanics to achieve success. Overall, these factors dictate the quality of the contact and therefore successful performance of the task. The permitted response time for a batter to visually react and analyze the trajectory of the ball, produce the movement of the swing, and create quality contact is a fraction of a second. In this study, temporal analysis and the measurement of sensorimotor factors indicative of skill was completed in different pitch conditions to understand the changes that occur as a result of whether the pitch type is known. Additionally, correlations between sensory and motor kinematics of the baseball swing were examined. Sixteen participants were divided in to two subgroups based on their highest level of baseball experience. The sub-elite group consisted of individuals whose highest level of playing experience was at the high school varsity level, while the elite group included collegiate players up to the NCAA Division I level. Utilizing live pitching in an indoor batting facility, a 12-camera motion capture system, and eye tracking glasses, each subject completed 20 totals trials across a known fastball, known curveball, and unknown mixed conditions. For the fastball trials only, pelvis rotation and angular velocities along with the load phase, load-release difference, land phase, launch phase, and swing duration were measured and represent the motor variables while head and eye rotation and average angular velocity represent the sensory variables measured. Results demonstrated significant differences in head rotation, average head angular velocity, pelvis rotation, and load-release difference between the known and unknown conditions, significant differences in the load phase, land phase, and total swing durations, as well as the load-release difference between elite and sub-elite batters, along with a significant interaction between skill level and pelvis rotation for pitch condition (p < 0.05). Additionally, relationships were found between eye and head rotation with pelvis and swing phase kinematics for both the elite and sub-elite groups (p < 0.05). Overall, understanding the kinematic differences between pitch conditions and skill level can lead to more effective training strategies to enhance performance

Atlanterhavsjuvet : en studie av fire norske avisers dekning av de amerikanske presidentvalgkampenene fra 1992 til 2008

I denne oppgaven analyserer jeg dekning av de fem amerikanske presidentvalgkampenene fra 1992 til 2008 i de fire norske avisene Aftenposten, Dagbladet, Dagsavisen (tidligere Arbeiderbladet) og VG. Gjennom en kvantitativ innholdsanalyse har jeg undersøkt hvor mye valgene dekkes både på tvers av valg og aviser. Valgdekningen øker voldsomt fra 2000 til 2004, men faller ikke tilbake i 2008. Fordelingen mellom avisene er stabil, med VG som den avisen som skriver flest saker om valget. Jeg har også undersøkt hvordan den Republikanske og den Demokratiske kandidaten dekkes, og undersøkt hvordan temaer som skiller Norge fra USA brukes i dekningen. Det foregår en utstrakt bruk av stereotypier i dekningen både av valget generelt, og av kandidatene spesielt, og Demokratenes kandidat dekkes generelt langt mer positivt enn Republikanerens. Dette analyserer jeg videre i en kvalitativ analyse av tre konkrete saker, samt en sakstype, hvor jeg går dypere inn i hvordan kandidatene omtales, hvordan valgets relevans for norske lesere konstrueres i dekningen, og hvordan prioriteringer av aspekter i valgkampen endres over tid

The Utilization of Movement and Dance to Support Children in the Aftermath of Community Disaster

The presence of natural disasters and man-made disasters, have been significantly increasing over the past twenty years. These disasters are devastating, overwhelming, and potentially traumatizing for the communities and individuals involved. Children exposed to these disasters are especially at risk because they are still developing socially, emotionally, cognitively, and physically. Given the large body of literature regarding the relationship between trauma and the body, it is important to examine how body based approaches such as dance and movement can provide support in the aftermath of traumatic experience.The objective of this research study is to investigate how movement and dance are utilized with children who have experienced community level disasters. The study employed a descriptive qualitative design in which the researcher interviewed 10 individuals who have utilized dance and movement techniques in their work with children after disasters. Interviews lasting 50 minutes were conducted over the phone and Skype and included questions about demographics, context of disaster work, and nature of the dance/movement support. The researcher initially noted the participant’s common and variant responses to the interview questions. In addition, the researcher analyzed emergent themes that crossed questions and created a sub-group of creative arts therapists to look at emergent themes specific to this group. The common themes that emerged from all the participants included, focused breathing, play, sustainability, flexibility, be a witness/be present, and culture as comfort. Three themes emerged solely from the creative arts therapists’ sub-group including, structure, hope, and attune to the child’s needs. These themes along with the shared responses suggested a need to create a safe holding environment and build trust with the children. Movement and dance served an important role in this process by allowing for self-expression and play which let the children return to normal. Integrating cultural beliefs and rituals was also an essential component of sessions, which could be explored and created through movement. The themes also reflect the importance participants place on having a supportive team, coping strategies, and a flexible and receptive attitude. The researcher has utilized these results to create a set of guidelines for future therapists, teachers, and other youth workers who wish to work with children after community disasters.M.A., Creative Arts in Therapy -- Drexel University, 201