Turnout in recent American presidential elections

The well-noted decline in the participation of Americans in presidential elections since the early sixties reversed in the 1984 election, although only slightly. An improved national mood appears to have contributed little to increasing turnout. However, the gap in participation between the wealthier and poorer widened, while that between men and women narrowed and reversed direction, and belonging to a group associated with an identity affected participation more powerfully. Taken together, these findings indicate shifts in patterns of turnout corresponding to shifts in the lines of politicized interests. Analysis of the participation of blacks finds little evidence for electoral mobilization by the Rainbow Coalition in 1984.     

Information resource management in Florida: A primer

This article presents a brief history of the development of information resource management (IRM) in Florida. The principal organizations involved in IRM oversight described in this article guide the management of critical information technologies such as computers and telecommunications equipment. Entering the next century, state agencies must maintain their leadership given the current projected growth in the state's population and service demand. Effective IRM key to their continued success.     

Relative Affordability of Health Insurance Premiums under CHIP Expansion Programs and the ACA

Affordability is integral to the success of health care reforms aimed at ensuring universal access to health insurance coverage, and affordability determinations have major policy and practical consequences. This article describes factors that influenced the determination of affordability benchmarks and premium-contribution requirements for Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) expansions in three states that sought to universalize access to coverage for youth. It also compares subsidy levels developed in these states to the premium subsidy schedule under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for health insurance plans purchased through an exchange. We find sizeable variability in premium-contribution requirements for children's coverage as a percentage of family income across the three states and in the progressivity and regressivity of the premium-contribution schedules developed. These findings underscore the ambiguity and subjectivity of affordability standards. Further, our analyses suggest that while the ACA increases the affordability of family coverage for families with incomes below 400 percent of the federal poverty level, the evolution of CHIP over the next five to ten years will continue to have significant implications for low-income families.     

Childhood Violence Exposure: Cumulative and Specific Effects on Adult Mental Health

Childhood exposure to violence and victimization is a significant public health problem, with potentially long-lasting, deleterious effects on adult mental health. Using a longitudinal study design, 123 young adults—identified in adolescence as at-risk for high school dropout—were examined for the effects of multi-domain childhood victimization on emotional distress and suicide risk, net of adolescent risk and protective factors, including family dysfunction. The hypothesis that higher levels of cumulative childhood victimization would be significantly associated with mental health maladjustment in young adulthood was confirmed by the analysis. However, the victimization predictors of adult emotional distress were different than the predictors of adult suicide risk. These findings indicate the need for prevention and intervention approaches that include thorough assessment, and focus on the childhood and adolescent problem areas that are most consequential for long-term psychological well-being.     

Recovery of DNA and fingerprints from touched documents

This study investigated the various factors affecting DNA profiling from DNA recovered from fingerprints deposited on paper before and after fingerprint enhancement treatments. The DNeasy^® plant mini kit (QIAGEN^®) was found to improve DNA recovery from paper by over 150% compared with the QIAamp^® mini kit. A significant decrease in the amount of DNA recovered was observed following treatment with DFO and/or Ninhydrin. This decrease in yield did not have a comparably significant effect on the quality of the SGM Plus™ profiles. Furthermore, this study found that whilst certain paper types, such as newspaper, magazine and filter paper allowed for the good recovery of DNA, common office paper and white card, strongly interfered with the recovery of DNA resulting in poor quality profiles.     

Incidental findings in human subjects research: what do investigators owe research participants?

The use of brain imaging technology as a common tool of research has spawned concern and debate over how investigators should respond to incidental findings discovered in the course of research. In this article, we argue that investigators have an obligation to respond to incidental findings in view of their entering into a professional relationship with research participants in which they are granted privileged access to private information with potential relevance to participants' health. We discuss the scope and limits of this professional obligation to respond to incidental findings, bearing in mind that the relationship between investigators and research participants differs fundamentally from the doctor-patient relationship.     

Validation of Large White Pig as an animal model for the study of cannabinoids metabolism: application to the study of THC distribution in tissues

This study presents a new animal model, the Large White Pig, which was tested for studying cannabinoids metabolism. The first step has focused on determination of plasma kinetics after injection of Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) at different dosages. Seven pigs received THC by intravenous injections (50, 100 or 200 microg/kg). Plasma samples were collected during 48 h. Determination of cannabinoids concentrations were performed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Results showed that plasma kinetics were comparable to those reported in humans. Terminal half-life of elimination was 10.6 h and a volume of distribution of 32 l/kg was calculated. In a second step, this model was used to determine the kinetic profile of cannabinoids distribution in tissues. Eight Large White male pigs received an injection of THC (200 microg/kg). Two pigs were sacrificed 30 min after injection, two others after 2, 6 and 24 h. Different tissues were sampled: liver, kidney, heart, lung, spleen, muscle, fat, bile, blood, vitreous humor and several brain areas. The fastest THC elimination was noted in liver tissue, where it was completely eliminated in 6 h. THC concentrations decreased in brain tissue slower than in blood. The slowest THC elimination was observed for fat tissue, where the molecule was still present at significant concentrations 24 h later. After 30 min, THC concentration in different brain areas was highest in the cerebellum and lowest in the medulla oblongata. THC elimination kinetics noted in kidney, heart, spleen, muscle and lung were comparable with those observed in blood. 11-Hydroxy-THC was only found at high levels in liver. THC-COOH was less than 5 ng/g in most tissues, except in bile, where it increased for 24 h following THC injection. This study confirms, even after a unique administration, the prolonged retention of THC in brain and particularly in fat, which could be at the origin of different phenomena observed for heavy users such as prolonged detection of THC-COOH in urine or cannabis-related flashbacks. Moreover, these results support the interest for this animal model, which could be used in further studies of distribution of cannabinoids in tissues.     

The use of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene (COI) to differentiate two UK blowfly species -- Calliphora vicina and Calliphora vomitoria

Traditionally identification of forensically important insects has been carried out based upon morphological differences between species. However insect evidence found at a crime scene may on occasion be difficult to distinguish by morphological techniques and under these circumstances another method of accurate identification is required. This work utilises a cytochrome oxidase I partial mitochondrial gene region (COI) to distinguish the two of the main UK blowfly species -- Calliphora vicina (Robineau Desvoidy) and Calliphora vomitoria (Linnaeus) (Diptera:Calliphoridae). Seventeen interspecific differences in COI sequence were located. Use of the restriction enzyme SfcI on this gene region provides a simple method for distinguishing between C. vicina and C. vomitoria.     

Interviewing Preschoolers: Comparisons Of Yes/No and Wh- Questions

This study investigated the influence of question format on preschool-aged children's errors, their response accuracy, and their tendency to say I don't know when given non-misleading questions in a neutral, unbiased context. Children (3 to 5 years old) participated in a craft-making session that included a staged accident with two experimenters differing in gender and appearance; the environment also had several distinctive features. One week later children were interviewed about actions, participants, and environment; questions were yes/no format with the veridical response yes (yes questions), yes/no format with the veridical response no (no questions), and specific wh- format questions. Question format substantially influenced children's responses: they were most likely to make errors if asked no questions, and were unlikely to answer either yes/no question with I don't know. In contrast, children spontaneously and frequently said I don't know to wh- questions about content they did not recall (environment), but not about content that was well recalled (actions). Implications of question format for reliability of eyewitness testimony by preschoolers are discussed.