CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES:

Since 1984, all U.S. jurisdictions have established child support guidelines. Using computerized worksheets, we compared the guidelines of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut (which use the “Income Shares” model also employed by 30 other jurisdictions). We calculated how child care, alimony to a prior spouse, and subsequent children change the support obligation. We found that, generally, Connecticut requires the most child support, New York is second, and New Jersey third. However, if children require child care, New York requires the most support. In Connecticut, child care costs have virtually no impact. When a noncustodial parent is paying alimony to a prior spouse, support is dramatically greater in Connecticut than in New Jersey, with New York in between. Only New Jersey reduces the support paid by the noncustodial parent who has subsequent children. New York's and Connecticut's mathematical guidelines do not consider subsequent children.     

Freundschaften auf der Straße

Der Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit einer der randständigsten Gruppen unserer Gesellschaft — jungen Menschen mit dem Lebensmittelpunkt Straße. Die ?Straße“ ist in diesem Zusammenhang als eine umgrenzte Lebenswelt zu verstehen, in der sich junge Menschen bewegen, die häufig sozial entwurzelt sind und sich von den meisten gesellschaftlichen Institutionen abgewendet haben. Ihr Sozialleben beschränkt sich auf das Netzwerk der Straßenszene und die freundschaftlichen Beziehungen in diesem Netzwerk. Diese Beziehungen stehen im Mittelpunkt des Aufsatzes. Er geht der Frage nach, welche Bedeutung die Freundschaften für die jungen Menschen auf der Straße haben.Auf der Grundlage der Ergebnisse einer qualitativen Studie zu Freundschaftsbeziehungen von Straßenjugendlichen in Berlin wird im ersten Teil des Beitrags die formale gesellschaftliche Position der jungen Menschen durch die Schilderung verschiedener Dimensionen sozialer Ausgrenzung dargestellt. Entlang der Kategorien eines ideengeschichtlich gewonnenen Konzeptes von Freundschaft werden im zweiten Teil die Freundschaften von Straßenjugendlichen beschrieben. Einerseits stellen sie eine Anpassung an die objektiven Lebensbedingungen dar, andererseits sind sie ein letzter Aktionsbereich subjektiver Lebensgestaltung.     

Ethanol stability in unpreserved refrigerated antemortem blood

Ethanol stability in preserved antemortem blood has been widely studied since it is a common practice in cases involving suspected impaired driving to collect antemortem blood in evacuated blood tubes containing sodium fluoride. In some situations, antemortem blood is submitted to a forensic laboratory for ethanol analysis in evacuated blood tubes that contain only an anticoagulant. There has been limited research on ethanol stability in antemortem blood stored without a preservative. On two occasions, antemortem blood was collected from five ethanol-free individuals into 6-ml Vacutainer® tubes containing only 10.8 mg potassium EDTA. The blood tubes were spiked with ethanol to approximately either 0.08 or 0.15 g/dl. Dual-FID headspace gas chromatography was used to analyze 58 blood tubes, 29 from each session, for ethanol 1 day after sample collection and again after 1 year of refrigerated storage (~4°C). Statistically significant decreases in ethanol were detected at the 0.05 level of significance. Mean decreases in ethanol after 1 year of storage for the 0.08 and 0.15 g/dl samples were 0.013 and 0.010 g/dl, respectively. The mean ethanol decrease across all tubes was 0.012 g/dl. The range of decreases for the 58 blood tubes was 0.003–0.018 g/dl. The mean ethanol decreases measured in this unpreserved antemortem blood are comparable in magnitude to those previously observed in antemortem blood containing sodium fluoride after 1 year of refrigerated storage. Ethanol did not increase in the antemortem blood samples despite the absence of sodium fluoride.     

Advances in the Study of Political Advertising

One of the biggest recent advances in the study of political advertising has been the availability of systematic sources of data on when and where ads air—and their content. In this piece, we review the various data sources that scholars have used to study political advertising, focusing on their strengths and weaknesses. We then discuss recent studies that have employed data on political advertising to examine the effects of ad exposure on citizens' attitudes and political behaviors, how the content of advertising varies, and how ads have been targeted in recent political campaigns. We follow that with our own empirical contribution—an analysis of trends in advertising content, including negativity and policy focus—over the past 16 years.     

Z-line examination by the PillCam~(TM) SB:Prospective comparison of three ingestion protocols

AIM:To evaluate the Z-line visualization by the PillCamTM SB2 using three different ingestion protocols. METHODS:Ninety consecutive patients undergoing small bowel capsule endoscopy(SBCE)between January and May 2008 were included in the study. They swallowed the capsule in the standing(Group A= 30),supine(Group B=30)and right supine positions (Group C=30).Baseline patient characteristics, difficulties in capsule ingestion,esophageal transit times(ETT)and Z-line visualization were noted. RESULTS:No significa...     

Sexual Orientation,Parental Support,and Health During the Transition to Young Adulthood

Some recent studies suggest that sexual minorities may have worse health-related outcomes during adolescence because they report lower levels of family connectedness, a key protective resource. Using data from wave 3 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 11,153; 50.6% female; mean age = 21.8 years), this study extends prior research on adolescents to young adults. We examine whether lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) young adults report lower levels of parental support than their heterosexual peers and whether differences in parental support help explain why LGB young adults tend to have worse health-related outcomes. We find that lesbian and bisexual women report lower levels of parental support than heterosexual women and that gay men report lower levels of parental support than bisexual and heterosexual men. Compared to heterosexual women, lesbian and bisexual women have higher odds of suicidal thoughts and recent drug use; bisexual women also have higher odds of elevated depressive symptomatology and heavy drinking. Gay men have higher odds of suicidal thoughts than heterosexual men. With the exception of heavy drinking, parental support either partially or fully mediates each of the observed associations. Even though the transition from adolescence to young adulthood is characterized by increased independence from parents, parental support remains an important correlate of health-related outcomes during this stage of life. Sexual minorities report lower levels of parental support during young adulthood, which helps explain why they have worse health-related outcomes. Interventions designed to strengthen relationships between LGB young adults and their parents could lead to a reduction in health disparities related to sexual orientation.