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Christopher A Swann,1 Michelle Sheran,1 Diana Phelps2 1Department of Economics, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA; 2RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA Background: The consumption of alcohol by college students is a significant public health concern, and a large amount of literature explores this issue. Much of the focus is on the prevalence and correlates of binge drinking. Relatively few studies explore reductions in drinking, and these generally focus on reductions that occur during college. Aims: We examined the transition between high school and college and sought to understand the characteristics and behaviors of students that are related to reductions in the consumption of alcohol during this transition. Methods: We used data from all four rounds of the Harvard School of Public Health's College Alcohol Survey and logistic regression models to relate the status of reduced alcohol consumption to five groups of variables: demographic and parental variables, other substance use, social environment, student activities, and alcohol policies. Results: A number of characteristics were related to reductions in drinking. Students whose fathers did not attend college were more likely to reduce alcohol consumption (odds ratio [OR] =1.28; 95% confidence interval [CI] =1.06–1.55), whereas students who prioritize parties (OR =0.35; CI =0.30–0.43) and who have recently smoked cigarettes (OR =0.52; CI =0.41–0.64) or marijuana (OR =0.52; CI =0.40–0.67) or whose fathers are moderate (OR =0.73; CI =0.55–0.96) or heavy (OR =0.72; CI =0.53–0.96) drinkers were less likely to reduce alcohol consumption. Conclusion: The results highlight the importance of family background and social environment on reductions in drinking. Keywords: binge drinking, College Alcohol Study, college drinking, reductions in alcohol consumption

This study aimed to unravel the effects of climate, topography, soil, and grazing management on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in the grazing lands of north-eastern Australia. We sampled for SOC stocks at 98 sites from 18 grazing properties across Queensland, Australia. These samples covered four nominal grazing management classes (Continuous, Rotational, Cell, and Exclosure), eight broad soil types, and a strong tropical to subtropical climatic gradient. Temperature and vapour-pressure deficit explained >80% of the variability of SOC stocks at cumulative equivalent mineral masses nominally representing 0-0.1 and 04).3 m depths. Once detrended of climatic effects, SOC stocks were strongly influenced by total standing dry matter, soil type, and the dominant grass species. At 0-0.3 m depth only, there was a weak negative association between stocking rate and climate-detrended SOC stocks, and Cell grazing was associated with smaller SOC stocks than Continuous grazing and Exclosure. In future, collection of quantitative information on stocking intensity, frequency, and duration may help to improve understanding of the effect of grazing management on SOC stocks. Further exploration of the links between grazing management and above- and below- ground biomass, perhaps inferred through remote sensing and/or simulation modelling, may assist large-area mapping of SOC stocks in northern Australia., Introduction Rangelands occupy >80% of Australia's land area and encompass a broad range of climate, land use, and geographical conditions (National Land and Water Resources Audit 2007, cited by Bastin [...]

Plain language summary: Biomarkers may offer unforeseen insights into clinical diagnosis, as well as the likely course and outcome of a condition. In this paper, the focus is on the use of biological molecules found in body fluids or tissues for diagnosis and prediction of outcome in ovarian cancer patients. In cancer care, biomarkers are being used to develop personalised treatment plans for patients based on the unique characteristics of their tumour. This tailoring of care can be used to pursue specific targets identified by biomarkers, or treat the patient according to specific tumour characteristics. Surgery is one of the core treatments for ovarian cancer, whether it is offered in primary surgery or following chemotherapy in delayed surgery. Biomarkers already exist to guide the treatment of tumours with chemotherapy, but very little research has determined the value of biomarkers in tailoring surgical care for ovarian cancer. Such research is required to identify new biomarkers and assess their effectiveness in a clinical setting as well as to help identify specific tumour types to guide surgery. Biomarkers could help to determine the success of removing the disease surgically, or help to identify tumour deposits that persist after chemotherapy. All of these aspects would improve current practice. This Scientific Impact Paper highlights research that may pave the way towards bespoke surgery according to the biological characteristics of a tumour and aid gynaecological oncologists to provide surgical treatment according to individual need, rather than a blanket approach for all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A phenomenological theory of polar solvation dynamics in electron transfer that accounts for the spatial- and frequency-dependent dielectric function of the solvent is developed and described in a format appropriate to time-dependent fluorescence Stokes shifts. The basic features of the relaxation dynamics are explored by using various analytical expressions for the dielectric function. The presence of spatial correlations persisting to frequencies higher than those corresponding to longitudinal solvent relaxation, τ-1L, yields significant or even substantial decay components with relaxation times shorter than τL. These are associated with motions of individual molecules within the solvent structural network. The implications of these predictions for solvation dynamics in activated charge-transfer processes are noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents information about developments in the American Marketing Association (AMA), as of October 1, 1939. The article presents a letter from the President of the AMA regarding a report issued by the Committee on Professional Standards, a discussion of the publishing of meeting transactions and papers in a separate issue, and a letter from the AMA placement committee.