The relationship among alcohol use, related problems, and symptoms of psychological distress: gender as a moderator in a college sample

This research evaluated the prevalence of general symptoms of psychological distress, the degree to which these symptoms related to alcohol use and alcohol-related negative consequences, and gender-specific relationships among alcohol use, alcohol consequences, and symptoms of psychological distress. The sample included 1705 students drawn from a random sample of three West Coast universities who completed the survey. Results revealed higher levels of consumption and more negative drinking consequences for men, more psychological distress symptoms reported by women, and stronger relationships between psychological symptoms and drinking consequences than use per se. The association between psychological distress and negative drinking consequences was stronger among men than women. The present findings suggest that a focus on negative consequences of alcohol use in addition to the use itself may have greater utility in identifying students at risk for comorbid psychological distress to provide intervention.     

Expectancies and evaluations of alcohol effects among college students: self-determination as a moderator

OBJECTIVE: This research examined individual differences in self-determination as moderators of both alcohol expectancies and of subjective evaluations of alcohol effects in college students. Previous work has shown lower levels of self-determination to be linked with drinking for more extrinsic reasons and as a means of regulating affect and social approval. We proposed that alcohol expectancies and subjective evaluations of alcohol effects would be more strongly linked to alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems among students who were more controlled and/or less autonomous. METHOD: Self-reported alcohol expectancies and subjective evaluations of alcohol effects and self-determination were assessed among 560 (347 women) college students, along with self-reported alcohol consumption and alcohol-related negative consequences. RESULTS: Alcohol expectancies and subjective evaluation of alcohol effects were examined separately. A series of hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that positive alcohol expectancies were more strongly associated with greater alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems among students who were lower in autonomy orientation, and among male students who were higher in controlled orientation. Similarly, more favorable evaluations of positive alcohol effects were associated with greater alcohol consumption among students who were lower in autonomy orientation and students, particularly men, who were higher in controlled orientation. CONCLUSIONS: Expectancy theories implicitly assume that individuals who believe alcohol has positive effects and who evaluate alcohol effects favorably are more likely to engage in problematic drinking. This research reveals this assumption is more appropriate among individuals who are generally less self-determined. Implications for interventions are discussed.     

MR vascular imaging with a fast gradient refocusing pulse sequence and reformatted images from transaxial sections

The authors present a method for obtaining magnetic resonance (MR) images of intra- and extracranial vessels from thin contiguous transaxial sections. A section-selective gradient refocusing pulse sequence with a short repetition time caused flow-related enhancement from spins that flowed perpendicular to the transaxial sections. The signal was further enhanced by means of flow compensation gradients to rephase any phase shifts resulting from moving spins in the presence of the imaging gradients. Coronal and sagittal sections, reformatted from multiple transaxial sections, are shown to have excellent vessel contrast without the use of contrast material. These images were obtained in 12 minutes of acquisition time from as many as 60 sections of 3-mm thickness. Such a technique shows significant promise for MR angiography.     

Effect of intersection spacing on MR image contrast and study time

The effects of section separation on image contrast and calculated T1 relaxation times were investigated in healthy volunteers and a phantom using an early commercial version magnetic resonance imaging system. The effects are explained qualitatively on the basis of side lobes of excitation occurring outside the selected section resulting in reduction of the time permitted for T1 relaxation. The options for dealing with imperfect section selection, including separation of the sections (i.e., leaving gaps) and nonsequential excitation, are illustrated and the trade-offs involved in each explained.     

Red/green opponent colors equilibria measured on chromatic adapting fields: Evidence for gain changes and restoring forces

The luminance invariance and additivity of red/green opponent equilibria were tested under conditions of chromatic adaptation. Four empirical relationships were found. (1) At high test intensities on all adapting fields luminance invariance holds. (2) Luminance invariance holds for all test intensities measured when the adapting field is in red/green equilibrium. (3) At high test intensities on all adapting fields additivity of red/green equilibria holds. (4) At low test intensities on non-equilibrium adapting fields luminance invariance fails. These empirical findings can be explained in terms of a two process model of chromatic adaptation.     

雪灵芝对二乙基亚硝胺诱导大鼠肝癌组织细胞的抑制作用

目的：验证雪灵芝是否具有抑制大鼠肝癌的功效。方法：实验于2003—09/2004—08在广西疾病预防控制中心SPF级动物实验室完成。选用健康成年SD大鼠160只。按体质量分层随机分为5组：空白对照组、模型组、雪灵芝高剂量组、雪灵芝中剂量组和雪灵芝低剂量组，每组32只。雪灵芝高、中、低剂量组大鼠分别灌胃2．500，1．250，0．625mL/kg雪灵芝溶液，阴性对照组和模型组灌胃等量蒸馏水，1次／d，连续60d。第61天开始雪灵芝高、中、低剂量组和模型组灌胃二乙基亚硝胺溶液，对照组灌胃等量的生理盐水。于停止灌胃90d后各组处死一半受试大鼠（雌雄各半），检测血常规及血清主要生化指标，观察各脏器大体形态改变、脏器的癌变程度。1周后给剩余大鼠灌胃雪灵芝溶液（不含二乙基亚硝胺）。7周后处死余下的一半雄性大鼠，进行相同操作。8周后处死余下的全部大鼠，操作及检测方法同前。结果：纳入的160只SD大鼠，145只进入结果分析，15只脱落。①病理切片检查结果：除阴性对照组，其他各组大鼠肝组织均发生癌变或癌前病变。雪灵芝高、中、低剂量组的癌前病变发生率与模型组相近（P〉0．05）；癌变的发生率均低于模型组，差异有显著性意义（P〈0．05，0．01）。②大体标本检查结果：阴性对照组大鼠肝脏的大体标本均无异常改变，其他各组大鼠的肝脏有些可见表面粗糙等病理改变。模型组大体标本病理改变的阳性率高于雪灵芝高、中、低剂量组，差异有显著性意义（P〈0．05）。肉眼观模型组癌变发生率高于其他各组。③其他脏器检查结果：模型组2只大鼠有肝癌肺转移。结论：以较大剂量的二乙基亚硝胺连续灌胃30d可以复制大鼠肝癌模型；雪灵芝对二乙基亚硝胺诱导的大鼠肝癌具有预防和抑制的作用。     

Drinking motives, protective behavioral strategies, and experienced consequences: Identifying students at risk

The association between drinking motives and protective behavioral strategies was explored, including whether individuals with different drinking motives were more or less likely to utilize protective behavioral strategies and whether the combination of drinking motives and use of protective strategies may help identify individuals at elevated risk for alcohol-related problems. The final sample included 358 college students (59.2% female; M=18.47 years old, SD=.58). Individuals who had greater enhancement and social motives for drinking used protective strategies less frequently, controlling for number of drinks per week; those who had greater conformity motives used protective strategies more frequently. Coping motives were not significantly correlated with the mean of protective factors, but were associated with less frequently using individual strategies. Using protective strategies more frequently was associated with consuming fewer drinks and having lower RAPI scores. Interactions of drinking motives with the number of protective strategies tended to be non-significant; however, significant interactions indicated that greater coping and conformity motives were especially associated with negative outcomes among individuals who used fewer protective strategies.     

Motivation to change and treatment attendance as predictors of alcohol-use outcomes among project-based Housing First residents

Collins et al. (2012) indicated that time spent in a project-based Housing First (HF) intervention was associated with improved two-year alcohol-use trajectories among chronically homeless individuals with alcohol problems. To explore potential correlates of these findings, we tested the relative prediction of alcohol-use outcomes by motivation to change (MTC) and substance abuse treatment attendance. Participants (N=95) were chronically homeless individuals with alcohol problems receiving a project-based HF intervention in the context of a larger nonrandomized controlled trial (Larimer et al., 2009). Participants were interviewed regularly over the two-year follow-up. Treatment attendance and MTC were measured using items from the Addiction Severity Index and the SOCRATES, respectively. Alcohol-use outcomes included alcohol quantity, problems and dependence. Generalized estimating equation modeling indicated that MTC variables and not treatment attendance consistently predicted alcohol-use outcomes over the two-year follow-up. Findings suggest that the importance of motivation to change may outweigh treatment attendance in supporting alcohol behavior change in this population.