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The dynamics of an amensalism system with strong generic delay kernel is considered. From a careful analysis of characteristic equation, the local asymptotic stability of the positive equilibrium and the existence of Hopf bifurcation from the positive equilibrium are investigated, where the time delay is used as the bifurcation parameter. Moreover, we apply the normal form theory and the center manifold theorem to study the direction of these Hopf bifurcations and the stability of bifurcated periodic orbits. Finally, numerical simulations supporting the theoretical analysis are also included. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time-series analysis of alcohol consumption data has shown an impact of real price on alcohol consumption in NZ in the decade 1984-96. Beer consumption was reduced by real price increases and wine consumption was increased by real price decreases. By contrast, during this period spirits were price inelastic. A further influence on alcohol consumption was the introduction of wine into grocery stores, which led to a sudden permanent increase in wine consumption 3 months after the legislation came into force. Beer and spirits were not introduced into supermarkets at this time and while there was no effect on beer consumption there was a significant decrease in spirits consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study on the relationships between 10 to 17-year-old New Zealander's responses to alcohol televised advertisements, their drinking behavior and future drinking expectations. Consideration given to the role of positive and negative beliefs relating to drinking; Details on the subjects used in the study; Method in which the study was conducted; Examination of the results; Discussion based on the findings.

Examines the data from the national sample of some New Zealanders that allowed the comparison of six different alcohol consumption measures. Alcohol consumption measures; Variation of Finnish period estimate; Data collection based on random sampling; Statistics of alcohol consumption by sex and age; Results of the analysis; Discussion.

Aim: To develop the 17-item Asthenopia Survey Questionnaire (ASQ)-17 by Rasch analysis, and to generate a predictiveness score., Methods: Totally 739 participants were recruited and 680 were involved in the result analysis in this prospective, cross-sectional study. Three rounds of Rasch analysis were used to analyze the psychometric characteristics of items and options., Results: Phase 1 assessed the original ASQ-19, adjusted the item scoring mode to a four-point Likert response rating scale and combined the 18 th and 19 th items into a new item. Phase 2 deleted the 11 th item. Phases 3 and 4 assessed the new ASQ-17. All the evaluation indexes of ASQ-17 were acceptable. The Infit and Outfit MnSq values of items were 0.67-1.48, the variance explained by the principal component and the unexplained variance explained by the first contrast were 53.90%-59.40% and 1.50-1.80 in three dimensions. The curve peaks of scores in each dimension were separated and in the same order. The PSR and PSI values were 2.80 and 0.89, respectively. The mean scores of dimensions A (9.5±4.1 vs 3.5±3.2), B (7.3±3.3 vs 2.5±2.7), C (4.3±2.2 vs 1.4±2.0) and total (21.1±8.1 vs 7.4±7.0) in asthenopia participants were significantly higher than those without asthenopia (all P <0.001). The area under the curve in two groups was 0.899 ( P <0.001). Youden's index was up to the maximum value of 0.784 when the cut-off value was 12.5., Conclusion: ASQ-17 has stronger option sorting and suitability than ASQ-19. It is an effective assessment tool for asthenopia with an optimal cut-off threshold value of 12.5, which is suitable for diagnosis and curative effect evaluation., (International Journal of Ophthalmology Press.)

Objective: To study the relationship between drinking environment, attitudes and situation and alcohol-related health problems., Methods: A sample of 2327 respondents was randomly collected from Wuhan, Hubei Province in China by a face-to-face interview. The structural equation modeling analysis was performed for the data collected., Results: Both parents' drinking behaviors and respondents' drinking situation strongly impacted the alcohol-related problems and diseases. Friends' or peers' drinking behaviors influenced the respondents' drinking attitudes and behaviors. Males experienced more alcohol-related problems and diseases than females., Conclusions: Comparatively, parents' drinking behaviors exert the most significant influence on drinkers. Therefore, it is beneficial to restrict parents' drinking behaviors for the offsprings and the whole society, and an intensive professional education in early motherhood is also necessary for Chinese women.