Drinking games among university students in five countries: Participation rates, game type, contexts, and motives to play.

Most published studies, regarding students' participation in drinking games (DGs), originate from the United States of America (USA). This study extends research to the United Kingdom (UK) and countries of mainland Europe. University students from five countries completed an anonymous online questionnaire which included measures of the frequency of DG participation, along with types, contexts and motives for participation. Responses are compared by the gender, and country of domicile of the participants. The study is based on the results of the questionnaire administered to 306 Social Work students from five universities/countries of which 72.2% are females, with a mean age of 22.6 years. This included students in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and the USA. A high proportion of students, irrespective of gender, or country of domicile, stated that they participated in DGs. To 'meet people' and 'to get drunk' are the most important reasons stated for DG participation. Less benign motives, to 'control others' or 'get other people drunk', are reported as 'not important'. The most common types of DGs were consumption and team DGs. The pre-partying involved in DGs and associated consequences show important targets in alcohol harm minimization interventions. Harm minimization/public health messages regarding safer drinking need to recognize that younger students often feel they are immortal and do not fully appreciate risks and adverse effects of DGs and drink to have fun and be sociable.

Using a direct current (DC) glow discharge electrode as a non-invasive impedance probe for measuring electron density.

A small RF signal is applied to the anode of a low pressure (P ≤ 200 mTorr), low temperature (T e ≤ 3 eV) direct current (DC) glow discharge operating at an electron density of n e ∼ 106 cm-3. The discharge is modeled as a collection of capacitive, resistive, and inductive circuit elements that have resonances at particular frequencies, much like an RLC circuit. The location of these resonances in frequency space provides information about the plasma parameters. In this work, an electrode that is used to sustain a DC glow discharge is also used to probe the impedance of the discharge. The benefit of this approach is that it is not necessary to insert a physical probe that could introduce perturbations or contaminate the discharge. Experiments were performed to demonstrate this non-invasive impedance probing method for extracting the plasma discharge density at various neutral gas pressures and discharge voltages and currents from changes to the input impedance of the anode. Comparisons between densities extracted with this method and Langmuir probe measurements showed overall good agreement.

Self-reported Perceptions of Weight and Eating Behavior of School Children in Sunderland, England.

The main aim of this study was to determine the self-reported perceptions of weight and eating behaviors of school-age children in Sunderland in the North East of England. The results presented are derived from data collected by a Health-Related Behaviour Survey developed by Schools and Students Health Education Unit at Exeter University, and this study is based on analysis of the data set collected for Sunderland. A total of 12,213 pupils from nine secondary schools completed the questionnaire biennially from 1996 to 2012. The sample included 12 and 13 year olds and 14 and 15 year olds. Various health and social issues related to perceptions of weight and eating behaviors were determined. Trends related to these issues were identified according to age and gender of respondents, and differences between the groups were highlighted. From the analysis, some interesting findings relating to eating patterns and weight perception amongst young people were ascertained. Females of both age groups reported a greater desire to lose weight than their male counterparts. The percentage of school children who reported having breakfast at home has increased progressively, as have those having lunch at school. The percentage of school children purchasing lunch from takeaway outlets has dramatically decreased. This is pleasing since health policy of limiting take out provision is high on government agenda and these trends can be used by policy makers to focus on continuing to improve school meals. The findings partly support other national data but also contradict the widely held beliefs around food and obesity in the North East of England.

Assessment of Cardiac Troponin I Responses in Nonhuman Primates during Restraint, Blood Collection, and Dosing in Preclinical Safety Studies.

Limited information has been published on the use of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) as a biomarker of cardiac injury in monkeys. The purpose of these studies was to characterize the cTnI response seen in cynomolgus macaques during routine dosing and blood collection procedures typically used in preclinical safety studies and to better understand the pathogenesis of this response. We measured cTnI using two different methods, the Siemens Immulite cTnI assay and the more sensitive Siemens Troponin I-Ultra assay. We were able to demonstrate that after oral, subcutaneous, or intravenous dosing of common vehicles, as well as serial chair restraint for venipuncture blood collection, that minimal to mild transient increases in cTnI could be detected in monkeys with both assays. cTnI values typically peaked at 2, 3, 4, or 6 hr after sham dosing and returned to baseline at 22 or 24 hr. In addition, marked increases in heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) occurred in monkeys during the restraint procedures, which likely initiated the cTnI release in these animals. Monkeys that were very well acclimated to the chairing procedures and had vascular access ports for blood sampling did not have marked increases in HRs and BP or increases in cTnI.

Novel and efficient copper-catalysed synthesis of nitrogen-linked medium-ring biaryls.

Herein, a new copper-catalysed strategy for the synthesis of rare nitrogen-linked seven-, eight- and nine-membered biaryl ring systems is described. It is proposed that the reaction proceeds through a highly activated intramolecularly co-ordinated copper catalyst. The process is technically simple, proceeds under relatively mild conditions, displays a broad substrate scope and forms biologically valuable products that are difficult to synthesise by other methods. We envisage that this methodology will prove useful in a wide synthetic context, with possible applications in both target-oriented and diversity-oriented synthesis.

Diversity-oriented synthesis of disubstituted alkenes using masked silanols.

The regio- and stereoselective synthesis and subsequent Hiyama cross coupling of pentafluorophenyldimethylvinylsilanes has been developed, thus providing a convenient and robust method for the diversity-oriented synthesis of (E)-, (Z)- and alpha-disubstituted alkenes from terminal alkynes. Pentafluorophenyldimethylvinylsilanes undergo cross-coupling reactions with excellent selectivity and in good yields, offering an attractive alternative to existing masked silanols.

Impact of enhanced geothermal systems on US energy supply in the twenty-first century.

Recent national focus on the value of increasing US supplies of indigenous renewable energy underscores the need for re-evaluating all alternatives, particularly those that are large and well distributed nationally. A panel was assembled in September 2005 to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of geothermal becoming a major supplier of primary energy for US base-load generation capacity by 2050. Primary energy produced from both conventional hydrothermal and enhanced (or engineered) geothermal systems (EGS) was considered on a national scale. This paper summarizes the work of the panel which appears in complete form in a 2006 MIT report, 'The future of geothermal energy' parts 1 and 2. In the analysis, a comprehensive national assessment of US geothermal resources, evaluation of drilling and reservoir technologies and economic modelling was carried out. The methodologies employed to estimate geologic heat flow for a range of geothermal resources were utilized to provide detailed quantitative projections of the EGS resource base for the USA. Thirty years of field testing worldwide was evaluated to identify the remaining technology needs with respect to drilling and completing wells, stimulating EGS reservoirs and converting geothermal heat to electricity in surface power and energy recovery systems. Economic modelling was used to develop long-term projections of EGS in the USA for supplying electricity and thermal energy. Sensitivities to capital costs for drilling, stimulation and power plant construction, and financial factors, learning curve estimates, and uncertainties and risks were considered.

Copper catalyzed oxidation of organozinc halides.

A wide range of organozinc substrates may be oxidized in the presence of catalytic copper to give carbon-carbon bonds in high yield.

Mechanism and implications of brown adipose tissue proliferation in rats and monkeys treated with the thiazolidinedione darglitazone, a potent peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma agonist.

Thiazolidinediones represent an established class of insulin sensitizing agents for treating noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Darglitazone, a thiazolidinedione approximately 200x more potent than ciglitazone, was evaluated in preclinical safety assessment studies using rats (1, 5, and 50 mg/kg/day) and cynomolgus monkeys (50, 75, and 100 mg/kg/day). Darglitazone was a potent adipogenic agent in rats, causing hyperplastic/hypertrophic changes and firmness of white and perirenal, dorsal thoracic (TBAT), and interscapular brown adipose tissue (BAT). Progressive changes in BAT size, morphology, firmness, and fatty acid composition preceded clinical signs of impaired respiration and the subsequent development of a dose-dependent, life-threatening hydrothorax. The characteristics of the pleural effusate were consistent with lymphatic fluid. These adverse effects were ameliorated/reversed upon drug withdrawal and were insulin-dependent since rats rendered totally insulinopenic by streptozotocin pretreatment did not develop TBAT changes or hydrothorax. Although the effects of darglitazone on BAT changes were consistent with enhanced sensitivity to endogenous glucocorticoids, adrenalectomy, and dietary dehydroepiandrosterone administration were without a protective effect. Treated monkeys also developed white and BAT hyperplasia/hypertrophy, peripheral edema, and hydrothorax-related morbidity/mortality. Both species developed reversible, dose-related reductions in red blood cell parameters and follicular atresia. Peripheral and pulmonary edema are purportedly a multifactorial process involving vasodilatation, increased endothelial permeability, and/or plasma volume expansion due to reduced renal sodium excretion. Moreover, profound alterations in TBAT hypertrophy/hyperplasia/firmness may lead to discrete hydrothorax by restricting normal thoracic lymphatic drainage. Similar effects on adipose tissue, hemodilution, and edema (peripheral and pulmonary) were observed clinically with darglitazone and/or several other structurally similar/dissimilar PPAR-gamma agonists.