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This communication comments on the three papers by the FDA CDER research team on the regulatory perspective of the missing data problem. The focus is on two topics: causal estimand and sensitivity analysis. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Although tablet computers offer advantages in data collection over traditional paper-and-pencil methods, little research has examined whether the 2 formats yield similar responses, especially with underserved populations. We compared the 2 survey formats and tested whether participants' responses to common health questionnaires or perceptions of usability differed by survey format. We also tested whether we could replicate established paper-and-pencil findings via tablet computer. Methods We recruited a sample of low-income community members living in the rural southern United States. Participants were 170 residents (black = 49%; white = 36%; other races and missing data = 15%) drawn from 2 counties meeting Florida's state statutory definition of rural with 100 persons or fewer per square mile. We randomly assigned participants to complete scales (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Inventory and Regulatory Focus Questionnaire) along with survey format usability ratings via paper-and-pencil or tablet computer. All participants rated a series of previously validated posters using a tablet computer. Finally, participants completed comparisons of the survey formats and reported survey format preferences. Findings Participants preferred using the tablet computer and showed no significant differences between formats in mean responses, scale reliabilities, or in participants' usability ratings. Conclusions Overall, participants reported similar scales responses and usability ratings between formats. However, participants reported both preferring and enjoying responding via tablet computer more. Collectively, these findings are among the first data to show that tablet computers represent a suitable substitute among an underrepresented rural sample for paper-and-pencil methodology in survey research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As delays or disorders in early language and communication are the most prevalent symptom in children with disabilities, early screening is crucial to promote prevention, early diagnosis, and intervention. However, to the best of our knowledge, no screening tool is available for the joint assessment of early language and social communication skills in European Portuguese (EP)‐learning children, which is critical for screening, monitoring and enrolment in appropriate early intervention services. Aims: (1) To adapt and validate the EP version of the Communication and Symbolic Behaviour Scales Developmental Profile™ (CSBS DP™) Infant–Toddler Checklist, a parental report for the screening of early language and social communication skills. (2) To conduct a cross‐cultural comparison between the EP adaptation and the original US version. Methods & Procedures: A total of 611 EP‐learning children (ages 6–24 months) were assessed on the CSBS DP Infant–Toddler Checklist. Normative data, psychometric characteristics (i.e., internal consistency and test–retest reliability), and cross‐cultural comparison between the EP and the original version were explored. Outcomes & Results: Internal consistency ranged from good to excellent and the test–retest reliability was excellent. The performance of the EP and US samples matched on almost all scores. However, EP children performed significantly better than their American peers in the Social compositive at 22 months and in the Symbolic composite at 20 months. No further differences were found. Conclusions & Implications: These findings showed that the EP CSBS DP Infant–Toddler Checklist seems to be a reliable screening tool of communicative and symbolic behaviours for EP‐learning children, which can be particularly relevant for decision‐making in clinical practice. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject: Early communication skills are known to be related to later language outcomes. Thus, screening tools for the early identification of children at risk for language and communication impairments, which may lead to monitoring and early intervention, have the potential to promote better outcomes. However, to the best of our knowledge, no screening tool is available for the assessment of early communication abilities in EP‐learning children. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: This study adapted and validated the EP CSBS DP Infant–Toddler Checklist, the first published parental report checklist for the assessment of early communication skills in EP. It described the psychometric characteristics of the adapted checklist, summarized the newly available normative data for EP‐learning infants and toddlers, and compared the performance of EP‐learning children with the original standardization sample reported for American English. The results demonstrated that this tool is a reliable instrument for the early screening of language, communicative and symbolic behaviours for EP‐learning children between 6 and 24 months of age. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: Given that early screening is crucial to promote prevention, early diagnosis and intervention, the availability of this tool is particularly relevant for children monitoring and their enrolment in appropriate early intervention services, helping decision‐making in clinical practice, in line with current guidelines regarding early monitoring and intervention to promote and support better outcomes. Thus, the tool and related normative data will be useful for paediatricians, family doctors, primary healthcare providers, developmental psychologists and speech–language therapists, among other professionals in the healthcare and educational fields, concerned with speech, language, and communication development and impairments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies of authorship attribution have used machine-learning methods including regularized multinomial logistic regression, neural nets, support vector machines, and the nearest shrunken centroid classifier to identify likely authors of disputed texts. These methods are all limited by an inability to perform open-set classification and account for text and corpus size. We propose a customized Bayesian logit-normal-beta-binomial classification model for supervised authorship attribution. The model is based on the beta-binomial distribution with an explicit inverse relationship between extra-binomial variation and text size. The model internally estimates the relationship of extra-binomial variation to text size, and uses Markov Chain Monte Carlo ( MCMC) to produce distributions of posterior authorship probabilities instead of point estimates. We illustrate the method by training the machine-learning methods as well as the open-set Bayesian classifier on undisputed papers of The Federalist, and testing the method on documents historically attributed to Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison. The Bayesian classifier was the best classifier of these texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School-based risk behavior surveys traditionally have been administered via paper-and-pencil. This study assessed the feasibility of conducting in-class online surveys in US high schools. A paper-and-pencil questionnaire assessing computer availability and perceptions of online surveys was mailed to a nationally representative sample of public and private high school principals in fall 2008. Completed surveys were returned by principals from 580 of 704 selected schools. Prevalence and 95% confidence intervals were computed. Most high schools have at least 1 computer lab, most computers in computer labs are connected to the Internet, and just under half of schools with a stationary computer lab had a sufficient number of computers to accommodate an in-class online survey administration. The 2 most common problems associated with online surveys were logistics of providing enough computers for an entire class and rotating classes into computer labs. Nearly two thirds of principals preferred online to paper-and-pencil surveys when administered to 4 randomly selected classes that met at different times during the school day, but less than half reported this preference when administered to 4 randomly selected classes that met at the same time during the school day. Many schools do not have sufficient computer capacity to participate in a voluntary in-class online survey. An online survey could impose significant perceived and actual burden on schools and therefore could result in unacceptably low school participation rates. Online administration for in-class surveys of students in US high schools are not recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has found that music brings back more vivid and emotional autobiographical memories than various other retrieval cues. However, such studies have often been low in ecological validity and constrained by relatively limited cue selection and predominantly young adult samples. Here, we compared music to food as cues for autobiographical memories in everyday life in young and older adults. In two separate four‐day periods, 39 younger (ages 18–34) and 39 older (ages 60–77) adults recorded their music‐ and food‐evoked autobiographical memories in paper diaries. Across both age groups, music triggered more frequent autobiographical memories, a greater proportion of involuntary memories, and memories rated as more personally important in comparison to food cues. Age differences impacted music‐ and food‐evoked memories similarly, with older adults consistently recalling older and less specific memories, which they rated as more positive, vivid, and rehearsed. However, young and older adults did not differ in the number or involuntary nature of their recorded memories. This work represents an important step in understanding the phenomenology of naturally occurring music‐evoked autobiographical memories across adulthood and provides new insights into how and why music may be a more effective trigger for personally valued memories than certain other everyday cues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Valuable safeguards against fast‐spreading conjectures about learning in times of fear and uncertainty are evidence‐based approaches to the assessment of the impact of sudden and unforeseen disruptions on learning practices. The present research focused on physics learning in such times because conceptual and computational literacy in physics is critical to the development of a scientifically and technologically literate society. Objectives: The present research aimed (a) to offer an objective assessment of whether performance differences in a physics course of the general education curriculum existed between the face‐to‐face medium (familiar mode of instruction) and the online medium (unfamiliar mode of instruction) for both male and female students, and then (b) to develop a response to the evidence collected to ensure a quality education for all parties involved. The research intended to fill two critical gaps in the extant literature: mixed findings concerning students' performance in the face‐to‐face and online mediums as well as scarce coverage of specific domains of knowledge that are critical to STEM learners. Methods: Students' performance was examined as a function of the type of assessment (formative and summative), instructional mode (online and face‐to‐face), and gender. An understudied student population of STEM students of Middle Eastern descent without prior formal exposure to online instruction was targeted. Results and Conclusions: In both formative and summative assessments, male students performed better online than face‐to‐face, whereas the performance of female students was either higher online or equivalent between instructional mediums. The evidence collected suggested that consideration be given to remedies that foster academic success in the face‐to‐face instructional medium, particularly for male students. Takeaways: An evidence‐based approach to learning dismantled emotion‐driven expectations regarding the impact of the online medium on physics learning, and encouraged new perspectives about instruction. Lay Description: What is already known?: Ongoing debates on the impact of the pandemic on students' learning shape decisions regarding future reliance on the online medium for instruction. What this paper adds: The extant literature is mixed concerning performance in the face‐to‐face and online mediums, including particular domains of knowledge critical to STEM learning.This study focused on physics learning in an understudied population of STEM students who were unaccustomed to online instruction.Performance was higher online than face‐to‐face, but gender differences emerged. Implications for practice: Lessons learned focused on the flexibility of online learning and on the need to develop materials to enhance learning in males enrolled in face‐to‐face or hybrid/blended classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many features of the U.S. political economy arise from the interactions between large political and economic institutions, and yet we know little about the nature of their interactions and the power distribution between these institutions. In this paper, we present a detailed analysis of networks of U.S.‐based organizations, where edges represent three different kinds of relationships, namely owner–owned (ownerships), donor–donee (donations), and service provider–payee (transactions). Our findings suggest that in the ownerships network, the financial organizations form the core, and banking organizations hold strategic locations in the network. In the transactions network, the government organizations and agencies form the core, and defense‐related organizations form the backbone. In contrast, with the donations network, no specific domain of organizations forms either the core or the backbone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is an increasing number of technological resources available to speech and language therapists (SLTs) for use in clinical practice, but the factors that influence SLTs' selection and use of such resources are not well understood. In related fields, technology acceptance models have been employed to explain users' adoption of technology and to inform the advancement of empirically supported technological resources. Aims: To determine the factors that influence SLTs' use of technology for clinical practice by testing a model of their technology acceptance and use. Methods & Procedures: We surveyed 209 practising SLTs in the United States representative of the speech and language membership of the American Speech–Language–Hearing Association (ASHA). Participants completed a 38‐item electronic survey representing four categories: (1) technology use, (2) technology attitudes and factors influencing technology use, (3) employment information and (4) demographics. Items measuring technology attitudes served as indicators of the research model, which mapped the primary relationships of a technology acceptance model. Survey data were collected before the Covid‐19 pandemic. Outcomes & Results: The research model accounted for 66% of the variance in SLTs' behavioural intention to use technology, which significantly and positively predicted the amount of time they reportedly spent using technology in the workplace. Subjective norms and attitudes towards technology use directly predicted the intention to use technology. Perceived usefulness and ease of use indirectly predicted intention to use technology. Survey respondents reported using technology during 48% (SD = 24%) of their overall weekly work hours on average, with a large majority reporting using technology at least once per week for planning (89% of respondents), assessment (66% of respondents) or intervention (90% of respondents). Conclusions & Implications: These findings statistically explain the relationships between SLTs' attitudes and their intention to use technology for clinical practice, contributing to our understanding of why SLTs adopt certain technologies. We also detail the nature and frequency of technology use in the clinical practice of SLTs. Future directions for this work include further exploring use categories, employing direct measurements of technology use and exploring the impact of recent changes in SLT service delivery due to the Covid‐19 pandemic on SLTs' technology attitudes. What this paper addsWhat is already known on the subjectExisting research about the adoption and use of technological resources by SLTs indicates that they select tools based on convenience, cost and recommendations by others.What this paper adds to existing knowledgeThis study is the first to develop and test a research model of SLTs' technology attitudes. The findings from model testing demonstrate the significant predictors of SLTs' behavioural intention to use technology for clinical purposes. Intent of use is related to how much SLTs use technology in the workplace.What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?The present findings can inform interventions targeting the design and adoption of electronic SLT resources that are empirically supported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Students' tendencies to seek feedback are associated with improved learning. Yet, how soon this association becomes robust enough to make predictions about learning is not fully understood. Such knowledge has strong implications for early identification of students at‐risk for underachievement via digital learning platforms. Objectives: We sought to understand how early in the academic year students' end‐of‐year learning outcomes could be predicted by their performance and feedback‐seeking behaviours within a digital learning platform. We analysed data collected at different time points in the academic year and across different cohorts of students within the context of high school advanced placement (AP) Statistics courses. Methods: High school students enrolled in AP Statistics spanning three academic years between 2017 and 2020 (N = 726; Mage = 16.72 years) completed 3 or 4 homework assignments, each 2 and 3 months apart. Results and conclusions: Across the three cohorts, and even as early as the first assignment, a model consisting of demographic variables (gender, race/ethnicity, parental education), assignment performance, and interaction with the digital score report explained significant variation in students' final course grades (R2 = 0.314–0.412) and AP exam scores (κ = 0.583–0.689). Students' assignment performance was positively associated with end‐of‐year learning outcomes. Students who more frequently checked their digital score reports tended to receive better learning outcomes, though not consistently across cohorts. Implications: These findings further an understanding of how students' early performance and feedback‐seeking behaviours within a digital learning platform predict end‐of‐year learning outcomes. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Students' early academic performance predicts end‐of‐year success.Students' self‐regulated learning behaviours are another predictor of academic success.Clickstream data have been used as an indicator of the application of self‐regulated learning strategies, particularly behaviours associated with seeking feedback.Indicators of feedback‐seeking behaviours reflected via clickstream data have been shown to predict student learning.Yet, how soon associations between early performance and such indicators of self‐regulated learning as feedback‐seeking are robust across different groups of learners, different learning circumstances, and different types of learning outcomes has yet to be more fully understood. What this paper adds: We investigated whether performance and feedback‐seeking behaviours predict end‐of‐year learning outcomes at different points during the academic year across multiple cohorts of learners (2017–2018, 2018–2019, and 2019–2020) and using two different learning outcomes (class grades, AP exam scores).One cohort was affected by COVID‐19 during the 2019–2020 academic year, allowing us to examine whether differences emerge amidst unprecedented circumstances.We used assignment scores and online feedback‐seeking to predict end‐of‐year learning outcomes.Assignment scores were positively associated with end‐of‐year grades.First assignment performance predicted AP exam scores.Use of feedback (an indication of self‐regulated learning behaviours) tended to predict learning outcomes, though not consistently across cohorts. Implications for practice and/or policy: The findings from this study could improve understanding of how digital learning platform measurements predict end‐of‐year learning outcomes though also highlight the importance of context differences.Such findings hold implications for early identification of at‐risk students and appreciation for differences between learners and contexts.These findings also contribute to a growing understanding of the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on student engagement and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The response process of problem‐solving items contains rich information about respondents' behaviours and cognitive process in the digital tasks, while the information extraction is a big challenge. The aim of the study is to use a data‐driven approach to explore the latent states and state transitions underlying problem‐solving process to reflect test‐takers' behavioural patterns, and to investigate how these states and state transitions could be associated with test‐takers' performance. We employed the Hidden Markov Modelling approach to identify test takers' hidden states during the problem‐solving process and compared the frequency of states and/or state transitions between different performance groups. We conducted comparable studies in two problem‐solving items with a focus on the US sample that was collected in PIAAC 2012, and examined the correlation between those frequencies from two items. Latent states and transitions between them underlying the problem‐solving process were identified and found significantly different by performance groups. The groups with correct responses in both items were found more engaged in tasks and more often to use efficient tools to solve problems, while the group with incorrect responses was found more likely to use shorter action sequences and exhibit hesitative behaviours. Consistent behavioural patterns were identified across items. This study demonstrates the value of data‐driven based HMM approach to better understand respondents' behavioural patterns and cognitive transmissions underneath the observable action sequences in complex problem‐solving tasks. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic?: Process data of interactive problem‐solving tasks contains rich information about test‐takers.To extract underlying information from process data is a big challenge. ​ What this paper adds?: The hidden Markov model helps identify latent states underlying problem‐solving process.Different performance groups displayed different behaviour characteristics.A consistent behavioural pattern was observed across problem‐solving items. ​ Implications for practitioners: The use of HMM holds promise in better visualize and understand behaviour patterns in response process.HMM is potential in understanding cognitive transmissions underneath the observable action sequences. ​ [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To shorten the Patient Engagement In Research Scale (PEIRS) to its most essential items and evaluate its measurement properties for assessing the degree of patients' and family caregivers' meaningful engagement as partners in research projects. Methods: A prospective cross‐sectional web‐based survey in Canada and the USA, and also paper‐based in Canada. Participants were patients or family caregivers who had engaged in research projects within the last 3 years, were ≥17 years old, and communicated in English. Extensive psychometric analyses were conducted. Results: 119 participants: 99 from Canada, 74 female, 51 aged 17‐35 years and 50 aged 36‐65 years, 60 had post‐secondary education, and 74 were Caucasian/white. The original 37‐item PEIRS was shortened to 22 items (PEIRS‐22), mainly because of low inter‐item correlations. PEIRS‐22 had a single dominant construct that accounted for 55% of explained variance. Analysis of PEIRS‐22 scores revealed the following: (1) acceptable floor and ceiling effects (<15%), (2) internal consistency (ordinal alpha = 0.96), (3) structural validity by fit to a Rasch measurement model, (4) construct validity by moderate correlations with the Public and Patient Engagement Evaluation Tool, (5) good test‐retest reliability (ICC2,1 = 0.86) and (6) interpretability demonstrated by significant differences among PEIRS‐22 scores across three levels of global meaningful engagement in research. Conclusions: The shortened PEIRS is valid and reliable for assessing the degree of meaningful patient and family caregiver engagement in research. It enables standardized assessment of engagement in research across various contexts. Patient or public contribution: A researcher‐initiated collaboration, patient partners contributed from study conception to manuscript write‐up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The purpose of this paper is to understand the institutional features of Chapter 11 from an empirical examination of thirty firms that have emerged from reorganization. We find the recontracting framework of Chapter 11 to be complex, lengthy, and costly. Violations of absolute priority in favor of stockholders are frequently encountered. These deviations may result from the bargaining process of Chapter 11 or from a recontracting process between creditors and stockholders which recognizes the ability of stockholder-oriented management to preserve firm value. An example of such recontracting addresses Myers' underinvestment problem. An investigation of the effects of Chapter 11 on the pricing of risky debt is also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY Objective Fertility preservation (FP) is a widespread practice in paediatric oncology when gonadotoxic medications such as cyclophosphamide (CPO) are used. FP practice outside of oncology has not been studied, although nephrologists regularly use CPO. This is the first study to explore FP practice by paediatric nephrologists when CPO is used. Design Survey study. Descriptive statistics and chi-squared analyses were employed to analyse the data. Participants US paediatric nephrologists were sent a survey via email. The survey queried participants about FP practice behaviours, FP attitudes and barriers to practice. Main Outcome Measures Of 579 nephrologists invited, 32% responded to the survey. Results CPO was dosed in mg/kg by 23% of physicians, g/m2 by 40% and both by 37%. About 80% agreed that pubertal females should be offered a fertility referral, while 58% report that they actually refer. Factors negatively associated with referral include lack of training, lack of referral network and adherence to gonadotoxic dose limits. Results were similar for male patients. Conclusion The survey showed that FP practice in the United States is widespread among nephrologists. Lack of referral networks is a notable barrier for nephrologists. Perceived adherence to dose limits may be problematic given the variable dosing regimens utilised. This is due to the risk of unintended overdose in large adolescents dosed in mg/kg whose cumulative dose exceeds gonadotoxic limits in g/m2. This paper has implications for nephrology care providers and other specialists who utilise CPO, generalists who care for these patients and oncologists with extant FP referral networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Behavioral support may be effective in increasing physical activity (PA) in school settings. However, there are no data collection systems to concurrently record PA and behavioral support. This paper describes the development and validation of the System for Observing Behavioral Ecology for Youth in Schools (SOBEYS)-an instrument used with existing observation systems to record PA within a behavioral ecological context. METHODS In 2013, experts created a set of behavioral categories to record prompting and reinforcement of PA during a recreational school activity program. The school provided supervision and equipment for lunchtime PA, making it possible to assess both PA and behavioral support. The system was implemented in spring semester 2014 at 1 suburban junior high school (N = 1452; 48% girls, 74% Caucasian) in the western Unites States. RESULTS Following multiple field trials, the SOBEYS instrument recorded behavioral categories of visual and verbal prompting, verbal, and nonreinforcement by adults and peers, and token reinforcement. Construct validity and acceptable interobserver agreement (>90%; kappa between 0.22 and 0.94) resulted. CONCLUSION Trained SOBEYS users can accurately and reliably record the presence of behavioral support aimed at prompting and reinforcing PA in conjunction with established systematic observation instruments to record PA context and quantity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This paper studies whether non-separabilities between consumption and leisure may help to explain the observed persistence in GNP growth. We consider an extended version of Lucas's (1988) human capital investment model that includes labour adjustment costs and compare its performance under different utility specifications with different degrees of complementarity and substitutability between consumption and leisure. We find that when consumption and leisure are complements the model succeeds in matching not only the autocorrelation of output growth but also the important trend-reverting component found in US data. These results hold even if low adjustment costs of labour are considered. Hence, we conclude that an arguably simple margin not considered conventionally can provide useful insights into observed business cycle patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Over the past two decades the growth in international trade and the offshore migration of US manufacturing have created global supply chains with longer lead-times and slower response. This suggests that traditional supply chains have encountered limits to time-based competition in which the cost of faster replenishment exceeds the benefits. This paper explores and quantifies those limits to time-based competition in make-to-stock supply chains for functional products (products with stable demand over relatively long life cycles). The marginal value of time is used to define the limits of time-based competition in a supply chain, and we define it as the change in total inventory costs per unit change in supply chain lead-time. To calculate the value of time, we develop a set of simple analytical expressions that apply to most standard reorder-point inventory policies under deterministic and variable lead-times. By not requiring optimal inventory policies and expressing the value of time in terms of the unit cost of the product, we obtain very general results that are essentially product-free. We validate the analytical expressions using data from actual supply chains to simulate the inventory cost effects of changes in the lead-time. The results show that the marginal value of time in a supply chain is surprisingly low; it generally falls within a range of 0.4–0.8% of product unit cost per week. Our analytical models explain why there has been expansive growth in global supply chains for functional products. The key tradeoff in outsourcing is between reduced variable production cost and the increased inventory cost of longer supply chain lead-times. The models show analytically that the incremental inventory cost is extremely small relative to the cost benefit. The growth in global supply chains with long lead-times is cost, rather than time, driven. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, we estimate the language effects on the earnings distribution among child immigrants. Utilizing U.S. Census data, we find: (1) there exists a larger heterogeneity in language premiums across the earnings distribution, and the patterns change over time (2) occupation and education channels explain most of the language effects and the large heterogeneity in them. However, the importance of these two channels has decreased over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we develop a model to examine the effect of information technology (IT) in the banking industry. IT can reduce operational cost and create network externality. Empirical studies, however, have shown inconsistency, the so-called Solow paradox, which we explain by stressing the heterogeneity in banking services. In a differentiated model, we characterize the conditions to identify these two effects and explain how the two seemingly positive effects turn negative. Using a panel data set of 68 US banks over 1986–2005, our results show that the profitability effect of IT spending is negative, reflecting a negative network competition effect in the banking industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School-based curricula have become a mainstay of drug prevention policy in the United States and are increasing in popularity in other parts of the world. The promotion and dissemination of these interventions has been driven in large part by the creation of lists of programmes which, it is claimed, are grounded in scientific evidence demonstrating their effectiveness. Recently concerns have been raised about the data analysis and presentation practices used in evaluations of a number of programmes that appear on these lists. Here we examine a series of papers from an evaluation of an intervention that combined the Strengthening Families Program 10 - 14 and Life Skills Training Program, each of which is among the most widely advocated universal drug prevention programmes. The data analysis and presentation practices employed in the evaluation of this combined programme include one-tailed significance testing, alpha levels of 0.10, changes in outcome variables across publications and use of the post-test data as the baseline when assessing change over time. Taken together, these practices severely limit the claims that can be made about the results presented in the evaluation. Specifically, we believe that far from supporting the evaluators' claims concerning the rigour of the findings and their generalisability and public health significance, the results are very fragile, of little practical significance and quite possibly analysis-dependent. [Gorman DM, Conde E, Huber JC Jr. The creation of evidence in 'evidence-based' drug prevention: a critique of the Strengthening Families Program Plus Life Skills Training evaluation. Drug Alcohol Rev 2007;26:585 - 593] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This opinion piece focuses upon a research paper that evaluated performance-based budgeting at the state government level in the U.S. during both boom and bust years by fashioning an analytical framework from a survey of the U.S. states. The author of this paper urges that governmental officials should develop a decision strategy to widen the range of information and data points used during the development of budgeting decisions.

This paper examines the impact of international predictors from liquid markets on the predictability of excess returns in the New Zealand stock market using data from May 1992 to February 2011. We find that US stock market return and VIX contribute significantly to the out-of-sample forecasts at short horizons even after controlling for the effect of local predictors, while the contribution by Australian stock market return is not significant. We further demonstrate that the predictability of New Zealand stock market returns using US market predictors could be explained by the information diffusion between these two countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the work and care associated with raising a child with disabilities in the United States. Based on in-depth interviews with parents who have a child with autism, it develops the notion of parenting work and trajectories of care to investigate how parents navigate and coordinate the challenges of getting an autism diagnosis, obtaining educational services, and re-contextualising the possibilities for the future. I argue that parents embody a complex mix of love, hope, and responsibility in parenting work and trajectories of care that expands temporal and social elements of illness work and trajectories initially developed by Anselm Strauss and colleagues. This type of parenting work changes over time and is influenced by social structural forces and relationships in which the care takes place. The re-articulation of these analytic tools also begins to untangle the intricate mix of both medical and social models of disability that parents embrace and continuously negotiate. This study demonstrates how parents accept the medical model of disability by seeking and pushing for a clinical autism diagnosis and subsequent treatments, while at the same time challenge the limits placed on their children by providing them with opportunities, possible futures, and a sense of personhood. A Virtual Abstract of this paper can be accessed at: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The Palliative Care and Rapid Emergency Screening (P-Ca RES) Project is an initiative intended to improve access to palliative care ( PC) among emergency department ( ED) patients with life-limiting illness by facilitating early referral for inpatient PC consultations. In the previous two phases of this project, we derived and validated a novel PC screening tool. This paper reports on the third and final preimplementation phase. Objectives Examine the acceptability of the P-Ca RES tool among PC and ED providers as well as test its reliability on case vignettes. Compare variations in reliability and acceptability of the tool based on ED providers' roles (attendings, residents, and nurses) and lengths of experience. Methods A two-part electronic survey was distributed to ED providers at multiple sites across the United States. We tested the reliability of the tool in the first part of the survey, through a series of case vignettes. A criterion standard of correct responses was first defined by consensus input from expert PC physicians' interpretations of the vignettes. The experts' input was validated using the Gwet's AC1 coefficient for inter-rater reliability. ED providers were then presented with the case vignettes and asked to use the P-Ca RES tool to correctly identify which patients had unmet PC needs. ED provider responses were compared both against the criterion standard and against different subsets of respondents (divided both by role and by level of experience). The second part of the survey assessed acceptability of the P-Ca RES tool among ED providers using responses to questions from a modified Ottawa Acceptability of Decision Rules Instrument, based on a 1-5 Likert rating scale. Descriptive statistics were used to report all outcomes. Results In total, 213 ED providers employed in three different regions across the country responded to the survey (39.4%) and 185 (86.9%) of those completed it. The majority of providers felt that the tool would be useful in their practice (80.5%), agreed that the tool was clear and unambiguous (87.1%), thought that use of the tool would likely benefit patients (87.5%), and thought that it would result in improved use of resources to help severely ill patients (83.6%). Over three-quarters of ED providers (78.5%) also self-reported that they refer patients with unmet PC needs less than 10% of the time, and only 10.8% of respondents believed that they are already utilizing an effective strategy to screen or refer patients to PC. Applying our P-Ca RES tool to case vignettes, ED providers generated PC referrals in concordance with PC experts over 88.7% of the time (95% confidence interval = 86.4% to 90.6%), with an overall sensitivity of more than 90%. These results varied minimally regardless of the respondent's role in the ED or their level of experience. Conclusion Screening by emergency medicine providers for unmet PC needs using a brief, novel, content-validated screening tool is acceptable and is also reliable when applied to case vignettes-regardless of provider role or experience. Clinical trial and further study are warranted and are currently under way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This paper investigates the change through time in the perception of smoking‐related health harm and smoking behaviour from 1949 to 1981. Background and context: A variety of common behaviours can be linked to chronic disease risk—smoking, over‐eating, and excessive sitting, to name a few. Changing behaviours to reduce exposure to such risks can be an effort that spans generations and decades. Setting and participants: Respondents to Gallup Poll surveys in the United States from 1949, 1954, 1957, 1971, 1972, 1977 and 1981. Methods: Graphical analysis and probit regression are used to investigate trends through time and statistical associations of smoking with the perception of smoking‐related health risks and other socio‐demographic variables. Intervention and main variable studied: Perceived smoking health risk. Main outcome measure: Smoking participation. Results and conclusion: Our findings include the proportions of individuals who were self‐reported smokers fell between 1949 and 1981, from 0.48 to 0.34. Among smokers, the proportion who believed smoking was harmful increased from 0.52 in 1949 to 0.81 in 1981. By 1981, the proportion of non‐smokers who believed smoking was harmful was 0.98. A negative association between belief in smoking harm and the decision to smoke was shown in regression analysis. This association became more pronounced over the three decades under study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives As obesity rates remain alarmingly high, the importance of healthful diets is emphasized; however, affordability of such diets is disputed. Market basket surveys ( MBSs) investigate the affordability of diets for families that meet minimum daily dietary requirements using actual food prices from grocery stores. This review paper describes the methods of MBSs, summarizes methodology, price and affordability findings, limitations, and suggests related policy and practice implications. Design and Sample This is a systematic review of 16 MBSs performed in the United States from 1985 to 2012. A comprehensive multidisciplinary database search strategy was used to identify articles meeting inclusion criteria. Results Results indicated MBS methodology varied across studies and price data indicated healthful diets for families are likely unaffordable when purchased from small- to medium-sized stores and may be unaffordable in larger stores when compared to the Thrifty Food Plan. Conclusions Using a social ecological approach, public health nurses and all public health professionals are prime advocates for increased affordability of healthful foods. This study includes policy advocacy, particularly in support of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for low-income families. Future research implications are provided, including methodological recommendations for consistency and quality of forthcoming MBS research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family care provision is the norm for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), even as they and their support networks grow older. As families age together, the role of primary carer frequently transitions from the parent to a sibling, as aging parents die or become too frail to provide continued support. The purpose of this paper is to explore the transition in care from the perspective of a sibling who has replaced parents as the primary carer for an individual aging with I/DD. Data are drawn from semi-structured, in-depth interviews with a sample of adults over age 40, living in the United States, and caring for a sibling with I/DD (n = 15). Data were analyzed using a constant comparative qualitative approach. Results reveal themes impacting the adjustment to the role of primary carer, the extent to which aging transformed the content of care needs, the importance of planning, and the availability of supplementary support. Findings from this study underscore the need to develop long-term services and supports as well as educational resources that accommodate this population of carers as they age together with their sibling with I/DD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: A skewed percentage of industry payments goes to "key opinion leaders" (KOLs) whose prominence and influence has increased with time. Given that KOL is neither precisely defined nor quantifiable, we turned to the level of industry payments as a surrogate quantifiable metric and assessed the associations between industry payments to US rheumatologists and their authorships of publications in high‐impact rheumatology journals. Methods: Payments to US rheumatologists during the 2015‐2020 interval were obtained from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Open Payments database, and authorships were tallied for calendar year 2021 publications in the four rheumatology journals (Lancet Rheumatol, Nat Rev Rheumatol, Ann Rheum Dis, Arthritis Rheumatol) with the highest 2021 journal impact factors and journal citation indicators. Differences between groups were determined by chi‐squared test, unpaired Student's t‐test, one‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Mann–Whitney rank sum test, and Kruskal–Wallis one‐way ANOVA on ranks. Correlations were calculated using Spearman rank order. A P value ≤0.05 was considered significant. Results: There were 278 individual US rheumatologists who received industry payments and served as authors of publications in the four high‐impact rheumatology journals. Non–research‐associated payments to these individuals strongly correlated with research‐associated payments. Payments to male US rheumatologists were greater than those to their female counterparts, and payments strongly correlated with the number of publications among male authors but only weakly, and often not significantly, among female authors. Conclusion: A substantial fraction of the authorships in calendar year 2021 publications in four high‐impact rheumatology journals arose from a very small percentage of all US rheumatologists who had received industry payments during the 2015‐2020 interval. Payments to male US rheumatologist‐authors were strikingly different from those to female US rheumatologist‐authors, and further investigation is needed to explain the glaring difference in payments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is already known about this subject High rates of childhood obesity and overweight have promoted interest in school-based interventions., Procter's Value Added Index ( VAI) identifies schools with higher-than-predicted rates of obesity., What this study adds The VAI can be calculated with much simpler techniques than those proposed by Procter and associates., VAI data from a span of 4 years indicated that rank orderings of schools vary widely over time., This casts doubt on the utility of the VAI measure for targeting policy interventions, and we suggest that using a simpler method would be more effective, especially when obesity rates are high., Background High rates of childhood obesity and overweight have promoted interest in school-based interventions. As a way to identify schools with high unexpected prevalence of obesity and the greatest need, Procter and associates developed a 'Value Added Index' ( VAI). It compares rates of obesity in entry level and advanced students in elementary schools, quantifying the extent to which rates for advanced students are higher than what would be expected given entry level rates and socio-demographic characteristics. Methods This paper replicates their analysis using data over a 4 year time span from 17 schools in the western United States. Our analysis compared results obtained with the relatively complicated mixed-model approach, which was used by Procter and associates, and a more simple linear regression, which could be easily used by local school officials. Results were also compared across the 4 years for which data were available. Results Identical results were found when the two methods were compared. There was little stability in the rank ordering of schools, based on the VAI, from 1 year to another. Conclusions Our results cast doubts on the utility of the VAI for policy makers and suggest policy makers consider a universalistic, rather than targeted, approach to interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Focusing on organizational learning research in healthcare settings, this paper studies how experience, ownership and focus affect productive efficiency in U.S. hospitals. Building on organizational learning theory, health economics and the focused factory concept, we propose that hospitals learn to improve productive efficiency and the relationship between productive efficiency and cumulative experience is curvilinear. We also hypothesize that clinical focus has a positive effect on productive efficiency and that nonprofit hospitals and proprietary hospitals trade off costs and quality differently. The proposed hypotheses are tested with yearly performance data for over 3700 major U.S. hospitals spanning from 1996 to 2010. We find strong support for the proposed hypotheses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aims Many observational studies suggest that increased drinking frequency is associated with reduced mortality among those with low-dose alcohol consumption. The purpose of this paper was to examine whether frequent drinkers consume lower-risk amounts during drinking days or have favorable risk factor profiles compared with those who drink less frequently, and discuss implications for the larger debate about the limitations of non-randomized studies about 'moderate' drinking and the development of low-risk drinking guidelines. Methods Data from the 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey were used to characterize alcohol consumption characteristics and their relationship with risk factors among adult drinking men who consumed an average of fewer than two drinks per day and adult drinking adult women who consumed an average of less than one drink per day. Results Those who drank relatively infrequently (14 or fewer days per month) consumed more during drinking days, were more likely to exceed the US Dietary Guidelines drinking limits (41.0% versus 9.7%) and had a larger proportion of drinking days that included binge drinking (13.4% versus 4.3%). Infrequent drinkers also had a higher prevalence of 13 of 15 risk factors assessed. Findings from analyses of those aged ≥40 years were similar. Conclusions Among those with low average alcohol consumption, infrequent drinkers drink more during drinking days and have unfavorable risk factors profiles compared with more frequent drinkers, suggesting that confounding may contribute to favorable associations with 'moderate' average alcohol consumption and increased drinking frequency observed in non-randomized studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background This paper examines the prevalence, the symptom profile, and the drinking and sociodemographic predictors of current (past 12 months) DSM- IV alcohol abuse and dependence among Mexican Americans living along the U. S.- Mexico border and those living in metropolitan areas away from the border. Methods Respondents in the non-border areas (primarily Houston and Los Angeles) constitute a multistage probability sample ( N = 1,288) of these areas, interviewed as part of the 2006 Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey ( HABLAS). Respondents in the border area ( N = 1,307) constitute a household probability sample of Mexican Americans living on the border. In both surveys, data were collected during computer-assisted interviews conducted in respondents' homes. The HABLAS and the border sample response rates were 76 and 67%, respectively. Results Although bivariate analyses revealed no overall differences between border and non-border locations, (negative) age trends were more pronounced on the border for male abuse and for dependence among both genders. Among females aged 18 to 29, border residence was linked to significantly higher rates of dependence. In multivariable analyses, the prevalence of male abuse declined more rapidly with age on the border than off the border. Other unique predictors of male abuse were Jewish/other religion and weekly volume of alcohol consumption. Being married or out of the workforce, attaining a higher education, having no religious preference, and weekly volume uniquely predicted female dependence. Age and weekly volume uniquely predicted male dependence. Conclusions The prevalence of alcohol use disorders among Mexican Americans on and off the U. S.- Mexico border largely mirrors previously documented patterns of alcohol consumption in these areas. For young Mexican American women in particular, border residence is linked to heightened vulnerability to alcohol dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we re-examine commercial banks' lending behavior taking into account changes in the stance of monetary policy in conjunction with changes in financial sector uncertainty. Our empirical findings, gathered from a very large data set covering all banks in the USA between 1986 and 2000, cast substantial doubt on the presence of a bank lending channel for the USA. We also show that financial uncertainty has an important and significant role in the monetary policy transmission mechanism which varies considerably across bank categories and the strength of banks' balance sheets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The Software for Assisted Habitat Modeling (SAHM) has been created to both expedite habitat modeling and help maintain a record of the various input data, pre- and post-processing steps and modeling options incorporated in the construction of a species distribution model through the established workflow management and visualization VisTrails software. This paper provides an overview of the VisTrails:SAHM software including a link to the open source code, a table detailing the current SAHM modules, and a simple example modeling an invasive weed species in Rocky Mountain National Park, USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Please cite this paper as: Regan et al. (2012) Epidemiology of influenza A (H1N1)pdm09-associated deaths in the United States, September-October 2009. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses 6(601), e169-e177. Background From April to July 2009, the United States experienced a wave of influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 virus (H1N1pdm09) infection. The majority of the deaths during that period occurred in persons <65 years of age with underlying medical conditions. Objective To describe the epidemiology of H1N1pdm09-associated deaths in the US during the fall of 2009. Methods We collected demographic, medical history, and cause of death information on a nationally representative, stratified random sample of 323 H1N1pdm09-associated deaths that occurred during September 1-October 31, 2009. Results Data were available for 302/323 (93%) deaths. Most cases (74%) were 18-64 years of age and had ≥1 underlying medical condition (72%). Among cases aged <18 years, 16/43 (37%) had a chronic lung disease, and 15/43 (35%) a neurological disorder; among cases aged ≥18 years, 94/254 (37%) had a chronic lung disease and 84/254 (33%) had a metabolic disorder. The median number of days between symptom onset and death was six among children (range, 1-48) and 12 among adults (range, 0-109). Influenza antiviral agents were prescribed for 187/268 (70%) of cases, but only 48/153 (31%) received treatment within 2 days of illness onset. Conclusions The characteristics of H1N1pdm09 deaths identified during the fall of 2009 were similar to those occurring April-July 2009. While most cases had conditions that were known to increase the risk for severe outcomes and were recommended to receive antiviral therapy, a minority of cases received antivirals early in the course of illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Please cite this paper as: Borders-Hemphill and Mosholder (2012) U.S. utilization patterns of influenza antiviral medications during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses 6(601), e129-e133. Background The 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic in the United States occurred from April 2009 to April 2010. The 2009 H1N1 influenza virus was susceptible to neuraminidase inhibitors (oseltamivir and zanamivir). Objectives To characterize the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic in the United States from April 2009 to April 2010 using weekly influenza antiviral prescription utilization data and the CDC's weekly reports of the number of visits for influenza-like-illnesses by the Influenza Sentinel Provider Surveillance Network. Methods A proprietary outpatient data source used by the FDA, which captures adjudicated U.S. prescription claims for select influenza antiviral drugs, was used to conduct this analysis. Data were extracted weekly and analyzed for surveillance during the pandemic. Results were compiled at the end of the pandemic. Results Oseltamivir has dominated the U.S. influenza antiviral market share of dispensed prescriptions since approval in October 1999 and was the primary influenza antiviral drug used during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. However, commercial availability of the suspension formulation of oseltamivir was reduced by high demand during the pandemic. Dispensed prescription trends of other influenza antiviral medications studied followed that those of oseltamivir, even antivirals for which the 2009 H1N1 strains showed resistance. Conclusion Weekly prescription utilization of all influenza antivirals used to treat influenza during the seasonal influenza outbreak followed the same trend of weekly reports of the number of visits for influenza-like-illnesses (ILI) by the Influenza Sentinel Provider Surveillance Network. The ILI epidemic curve resembled dispensed antiviral prescription trends (both overall and stratified by age), providing some corroboration for the surveillance data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Nicotine dependence is a highly heritable disorder associated with severe medical morbidity and mortality. Recent meta-analyses have found novel genetic loci associated with cigarettes per day ( CPD), a proxy for nicotine dependence. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the importance of phenotype definition (i.e. CPD versus Fagerström Test for Cigarette Dependence ( FTCD) score as a measure of nicotine dependence) on genome-wide association studies of nicotine dependence. Design Genome-wide association study. Setting Community sample. Participants A total of 3365 subjects who had smoked at least one cigarette were selected from the Study of Addiction: Genetics and Environment ( SAGE). Of the participants, 2267 were European Americans, 999 were African Americans. Measurements Nicotine dependence defined by FTCD score ≥4, CPD. Findings The genetic locus most strongly associated with nicotine dependence was rs1451240 on chromosome 8 in the region of CHRNB3 [odds ratio ( OR) = 0.65, P = 2.4 × 10−8]. This association was further strengthened in a meta-analysis with a previously published data set (combined P = 6.7 × 10−16, total n = 4200). When CPD was used as an alternate phenotype, the association no longer reached genome-wide significance ( β = −0.08, P = 0.0004). Conclusions Daily cigarette consumption and the Fagerstrom Test for Cigarette Dependence show different associations with polymorphisms in genetic loci. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT In this paper we compare the in-sample fit and out-of-sample forecasting performance of no-arbitrage quadratic, essentially affine and dynamic Nelson-Siegel term structure models. In total, 11 model variants are evaluated, comprising five quadratic, four affine and two Nelson-Siegel models. Recursive re-estimation and out-of-sample 1-, 6- and 12-month-ahead forecasts are generated and evaluated using monthly US data for yields observed at maturities of 1, 6, 12, 24, 60 and 120 months. Our results indicate that quadratic models provide the best in-sample fit, while the best out-of-sample performance is generated by three-factor affine models and the dynamic Nelson-Siegel model variants. Statistical tests fail to identify one single best forecasting model class. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both theoretical and conceptual understanding of innovation has developed significantly since the early 1980s. More noticeable, however, are the major changes that have been experienced in empirically-oriented innovation research as a result of the introduction of firm level innovation surveys. Collecting innovation related data via firm based surveys has now become a common practice for many countries for example, Canada, United States, Malaysia, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand as well as almost all EU countries. These survey-lead approaches have transformed our understanding of the nature and determinants of innovation and also increased our understanding of the role played by innovation in growth. At the same time, the surveys themselves have also been adapted as our conceptual understanding of innovation has increased. As such, the balance of innovation-related research has shifted from a theoretical to a primarily empiricist-lead agenda, and increasingly combined both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The objective of this paper is examine how our understanding of innovation has evolved over the last few decades, to identify the major theoretical and empirical influences on our understanding, and to assess the role which innovation surveys have played in this evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Please cite this paper as: Toback and Ambrose (2012) A multi-season national estimate of adult influenza vaccination by US office-based pediatricians, 2006-2011. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses 6(4), 231-234. There is no national estimate of adult influenza vaccination by US office-based pediatricians. De-identified patient-level data from an electronic healthcare claims database submitted to private and public insurers were analyzed for pediatric offices from the 2006-2007 through 2010-2011 seasons. An average of 321 000 (range: 225 000-434 000) influenza vaccinations per year were estimated to be administered to adults; 52%, 22%, and 26% were given to adults 19-49, 50-64, and ≥65 years of age, respectively. Consistent with the 2010 changes to national guidelines, recommending influenza vaccination of all individuals 6 months of age and older, pediatricians appear to be providing an increasing proportion of adult vaccinations against influenza to adults 19-49 years of age (probably parents of their pediatric patients). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective This paper examines how negative experiences with the health-care system create a lack of confidence in receiving medical care in seven countries: Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Methods The empirical analysis is based on data from the Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey 2007, with nationally representative samples of adults aged 18 and over. For the analysis of the experience of cost barriers and confidence in receiving medical care, we conducted pairwise comparisons of group percentages as well as country-wise multivariate logistic regression models. Results Individuals who have experienced cost barriers show a significantly lower level of confidence in receiving safe and quality medical care than those who have not. This effect is most pronounced in the United States, where people who have foregone necessary treatment because of costs are four times as likely to lack confidence as individuals without the experience of cost barriers (adjusted odds ratio 4.00). In New Zealand, Germany, and Canada, individuals with the experience of cost barriers are twice as likely to report low confidence compared with those without this experience (adjusted odds ratios of 1.95, 2.19 and 2.24, respectively). In the Netherlands and UK, cost barriers are only a marginal phenomenon. Conclusions The fact that the experience of financial barriers considerably lowers confidence indicates that financial incentives, such as private co-payments, have a negative effect on overall public support and therefore on the legitimacy of health-care systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper examines differences in drinking and binge drinking between Mexican Americans living along the U.S.-Mexico border and those living in 2 metropolitan areas away from the border (Houston, Texas and Los Angeles, California). Methods: Respondents in the non-border area (Houston and Los Angeles) constitute a multistage probability sample ( N = 1,288), who were interviewed as part of the 2006 Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS). Respondents in the border area ( N = 1,307) constitute a household probability sample of Mexican Americans living on the U.S.-Mexico border. In both surveys, data were collected during computer-assisted interviews conducted in respondents' homes. The HABLAS and the border sample response rates were 76 and 67%, respectively. Results: There were no differences between border and non-border Mexican American men in the proportion of drinkers, the proportion who binge drink at least once a year, and volume of alcohol consumption. However, within each location, there were significant differences in drinking by age, indicating that younger men drank more than men who were older. Border women showed significant differences across age-groups in the proportion of drinkers, in binge drinking, and volume of alcohol consumption, which were not seen among non-border women. Conclusions: Women's drinking seems to be more affected than men's by their residence on or off the U.S.-Mexico border. This is seen most clearly among young women 18 to 29 years old, and it is associated with an increased proportion of drinkers, a higher volume of drinking, and an increased proportion of women who report binge drinking. Increased drinking in this group of younger women seems to be associated with drinking in Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Objective: A descriptive, nonexperimental study of community/public health nurses' (C/PHN) perceptions of their work and their workplace was conducted for the purpose of identifying factors that may affect tenure intention and, by extension, health care delivery, at a time when nursing workforce capacity is in crisis, a subject not studied well among the C/PHN workforce. It was thought that findings would potentially contribute to decisions about curriculum development, hiring practices, and work design by nurse educators, leaders, and administrators. Spreitzer's Theory of Structural and Psychological Empowerment and Meyer and Allen's Commitment theory were utilized together as a framework. Design and Sample: A paper-pen survey was mailed to 688 C/PHNs in 10 states seeking national accreditation serving in community-oriented and population-focused roles and selected randomly in local health departments with a census of 10 or more eligible nurses. The return of 478 completed surveys yielded a response rate of 76%. Measures: Data were examined with descriptive statistics, correlation, and multiple logistic regression methods. Results: Results revealed 1/3 of C/PHNs were in some way considering leaving the job in spite of significant relationships among empowerment factors and between empowerment and commitment factors. Conclusions: These data beg for a clearer understanding of C/PHNs' perceptions of empowerment and the reasons for intent to leave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The objective of this paper is to examine 10-year trends (1992 to 2002) in the number and type of indicators of DSM-IV abuse and dependence among whites, blacks, and Hispanics in the United States. Methods: Data are from the 1991 to 1992 National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey (NLAES; n = 42,862) and the 2001 to 2002 National Epidemiologic Study on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC; n = 43,093). Both surveys used multistage cluster sample procedures to select respondents 18 years of age and older from the U.S. household population. Results: Increases in the prevalence of alcohol abuse between 1992 and 2002 seem associated with a rise in the prevalence of the indicator for 'hazardous use.' which usually means reports of driving after drinking. The decrease in dependence was not associated with changes in a particular indicator. In addition, both in 1992 and 2002, 12.3 to 15.4% of the men and 5.2 to 7.9% of the women were diagnostic 'orphans.' These respondents reported 1 or 2 indicators of alcohol dependence as present. Conclusions: The observed trends in number and types of indicators of DSM-IV alcohol abuse and dependence were probably triggered by a complex interplay between individuals' volume and pattern of drinking and reactions from the drinkers' social environment. The close association between hazardous use of alcohol and the prevalence of abuse deserves further discussion. A medical diagnostic category should not be so dependent on a criterion that may be influenced by social situations. It is necessary to understand more about diagnostic 'orphans' to better design interventions to address their problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'prevention paradox,' a notion that most alcohol-related problems are generated by nonheavy drinkers, has significant relevance to public health policy and prevention efforts. The extent of the paradox has driven debate over the type of balance that should be struck between alcohol policies targeting a select group of high-risk drinkers versus more global approaches that target the population at-large. This paper examines the notion that most alcohol problems among 4 Hispanic national groups in the United States are attributable to moderate drinkers. A general population survey employing a multistage cluster sample design, with face-to-face interviews in respondents' homes was conducted in 5 metropolitan areas of the United States. Study participants included a total of 2,773 current drinkers 18 years and older. Alcohol consumed in the past year (bottom 90% vs. top 10%), binge drinking (binge vs. no binge), and a 4-way grouping defined by volume and binge criteria were used. Alcohol-related harms included 14 social and dependence problems. Drinkers at the bottom 90% of the distribution are responsible for 56 to 73% of all social problems, and for 55 to 73% of all dependence-related problems reported, depending on Hispanic national group. Binge drinkers are responsible for the majority of the social problems (53 to 75%) and dependence-related problems (59 to 73%), also depending on Hispanic national group. Binge drinkers at the bottom 90% of the distribution are responsible for a larger proportion of all social and dependence-related problems reported than those at the top 10% of the volume distribution. Cuban Americans are an exception. The prevention paradox holds when using volume-based risk groupings and disappears when using a binge-drinking risk grouping. Binge drinkers who drink moderately on an average account for more harms than those who drink heavily across all groups, with exception of Cuban Americans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has documented a relationship between child sexual abuse and alcohol dependence. This paper extends that work by providing a comprehensive description of past year and lifetime alcohol consumption patterns, consequences, and dependence among women reporting either physical and sexual abuse in a national sample. This study used survey data from 3,680 women who participated in the 2005 U.S. National Alcohol Survey. Information on physical and sexual child abuse and its characteristics were assessed in relation to 8 past year and lifetime alcohol consumption measures. Child physical or sexual abuse was significantly associated with past year and lifetime alcohol consumption measures. In multivariate analyses, controlling for age, marital status, employment status, education, ethnicity, and parental alcoholism or problem drinking, women reporting child sexual abuse vs. no abuse were more likely to report past year heavy episodic drinking (OR = 1.7; 95% CI 1.0 to 2.9), alcohol dependence (OR = 7.2; 95% CI 3.2 to 16.5), and alcohol consequences (OR = 3.6; 95% CI 1.8 to 7.3). Sexual abuse (vs. no abuse) was associated with a greater number of past year drinks (124 vs. 74 drinks, respectively, p = 0.002). Sexual child abuse was also associated with lifetime alcohol-related consequences (OR = 3.5; 95% CI 2.6 to 4.8) and dependence (OR = 3.7; 95% CI 2.6 to 5.3). Physical child abuse was associated with 4 of 8 alcohol measures in multivariate models. Both physical and sexual child abuse were associated with getting into fights, health, legal, work, and family alcohol-related consequences. Alcohol-related consequences and dependence were more common for women reporting sexual abuse compared to physical abuse, 2 or more physical abuse perpetrators, nonparental and nonfamily physical abuse perpetrators, and women reporting injury related to the abuse. Both child physical and sexual abuse were associated with many alcohol outcomes in adult women, even when controlling for parental alcohol problems. The study results point to the need to screen for and treat underlying issues related to child abuse, particularly in an alcohol treatment setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There have been limited trend studies examining variations on the patterns of alcohol consumption among Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics in the United States. The current paper reports national trends in drinking patterns, volume of drinking (number of drinks per month), binge drinking, and drinking to intoxication among Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics over a period of 10 years and identifies sociodemographic predictors of these behaviors across the 3 ethnic groups. Methods: Data are from the 1991 to 1992 National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey (NLAES; n = 42,862) and the 2001 to 2002 National Epidemiologic Study on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC; n = 43,093). Both surveys used multistage cluster sample procedures to select respondents 18 years of age and older from the U.S. household population. Results: Trends varied across different dimensions of drinking and ethnic groups. There were no statistically significant differences in the mean number of drinks consumed per month among men and women in any of the 3 ethnic groups between 1992 and 2002, but there was a significant rise in the proportion of current drinkers in both genders and in all 3 ethnic groups. Multivariate analysis indicated that, compared to Whites in 1992, Blacks and Hispanics did not increase their volume of drinking, but Whites did. Drinking 5 or more drinks in day at all did not increase between 1992 and 2002, but drinking 5 or more drinks at least once a month was more likely for all groups in 2002 compared to Whites in 1992. Drinking to intoxication at all was more likely among Whites in 2002 than 1992, but drinking to intoxication at least once a month was more likely among Whites and Blacks in 2002 than 1992. Conclusion: The only common trend between 1992 and 2002 across both genders and 3 ethnic groups was a rise in the proportion of drinkers. There was also a rise in drinking 5 or more drinks in a day (Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics) and drinking to intoxication (Whites and Blacks), but this was limited to those reporting such drinking at least once a month. The reasons for these changes are many and may involve complex sociodemographic changes in the population. It is important for the field to closely monitor these cross-ethnic trends in alcohol consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bridges deteriorate over their life cycles and require continuous maintenance to ensure their structural integrity, and in turn, the safety of the public. Maintaining bridges is a multi-faceted operation that requires both domain knowledge and analytics techniques over large data sources. Although most existing bridge management systems (BMS) are very efficient at data storage, they are not as effective at providing analytical capabilities or as flexible at supporting different inspection technologies. In this paper, we present a visual analytics system that extends the capability of current BMSs. Based on a nation-wide survey and our interviews with bridge managers, we designed our system to be customizable so that it can provide interactive exploration, information correlation, and domain-oriented data analysis. When tested by bridge managers of the U.S. Department of Transportation, we validated that our system provides bridge managers with the necessary features for performing in-depth analysis of bridges from a variety of perspectives that are in accordance to their typical workflow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]