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This article combines social and genetic epidemiology to examine the influence of self-reported ethnicity on body mass index (BMI) among a sample of adolescents and young adults. We use genetic information from more than 5,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms in combination with principal components analysis to characterize population ancestry of individuals in this study. We show that non-Hispanic white and Mexican-American respondents differ significantly with respect to BMI and differ on the first principal component from the genetic data. This first component is positively associated with BMI and accounts for roughly 3% of the genetic variance in our sample. However, after controlling for this genetic measure, the observed ethnic differences in BMI remain large and statistically significant. This study demonstrates a parsimonious method to adjust for genetic differences among individual respondents that may contribute to observed differences in outcomes. In this case, adjusting for genetic background has no bearing on the influence of self-identified ethnicity. DOI: 10.1080/19485565.2010.524589

Evaluative terms are a crucial part of the environmental discourse. These terms, and the evaluative frameworks in which they are imbedded, serve as important guides to action. 'Natural,' a term commonly used as a positive evaluation, is problematic because it can both justify unfair social relations and obscure the connections between humans and the rest of nature. 'Sustainable,' another popular term, is extremely malleable, and is too often elaborated in frameworks that are neither socially nor ecologically responsible. The term 'sustainable' is sometimes used in the framework of ecosystem health, but even this approach can fail to highlight the interconnectedness of social and ecological systems. The framework of ecosocial flourishing, introduced in this article, is better suited for highlighting the interconnected nature of the world and for drawing attention to questions of environmental justice. Evaluative terms (like 'natural') and frameworks (like 'ecosocial flourishing') are part of larger narratives that help people make sense of their interactions with, and emotional responses to, the non-human world., 'Let's go inside nature,' says my host, ecophilosopher Nils Faarlund, as we walk out of his small wooden cabin and into the Norwegian countryside. Faarlund is fond of such novel [...]

Interviews with over 3,000 adolescents were made to evaluate the extent to which DSM-IV criteria characterizes the range of severity of adolescent antisocial behavior within and across sex. The DSM-IV conduct disorder (CD) criteria are a useful indicator of severe adolescent antisocial behavior but some CD criteria displays sex bias.

Climate in the early Pleistocene (1) varied with a period of 41 kyr and was related to variations in Earth's obliquity. About 900 kyr ago, variability increased and oscillated primarily [...]

Clinical interviews of approximately 5,587 adolescents revealed that DSM-IV diagnostic categories were found to be different in terms of the severity of alcohol use disorders (AUDs). However, a substantial inconsistency and overlap was found in severity of AUDs across categories. The need for an alternative diagnostic algorithm which considers all of the alcohol dependence and abuse symptoms is discussed.

A study to examine the DSM-IV criteria for cannabis abuse and dependence among adolescents is conducted. Results conclude that abuse and dependence criteria were not found to affect the different levels of severity in cannabis use.

IN THE UNITED STATES, more than 80% of persons admitted to treatment programs for alcohol problems experienced their first alcohol intoxication between the ages of 12 and 18 (Substance Abuse [...], Objective: This study examines the familial transmission of alcohol abuse and dependence to adolescents. Method: Male adolescents recruited from a treatment program for substance problems, matched controls, and all available biological parents and siblings were assessed with a structured psychiatric interview assessing Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, based diagnoses of alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence. A total of 2,612 individuals from 911 families were interviewed. Structural equation modeling estimated tetrachoric correlations among family members, the proportion of variance in abuse and dependence attributable to parent-offspring transmission, and the effects of assortative mating and horizontal transmission among siblings. Results: Tetrachoric correlations among siblings and parent-offspring ranged from .19 to .34 for abuse and dependence. Mother-father correlations were. 14 and .37 for abuse and dependence, respectively. Modeling of familial transmission showed that 33% of the variance in abuse and 56% of the variance in dependence was accounted for by factors transmitted from parents. The effects of assortative mating could not be dropped from the abuse model without significant loss of model fit but could be dropped from the dependence model. Horizontal transmission among siblings could be dropped from both models without significant loss of fit. Conclusions: These results suggest that aggregation of alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence in families of male probands is significantly influenced by parental transmission of risk but is not reliably influenced by horizontal sibling effects such as sibling interactions or cohort effects. Spousal resemblance was found to be an important source of familial aggregation for alcohol abuse but not alcohol dependence.

Reconstructions of Phanerozoic C[O.sub.2] levels have generally relied on geochemical modeling or proxy data. Because the uncertainty inherent in such reconstructions is large enough to be climatically significant, inverse climate modeling may help to constrain paleo-C[O.sub.2] estimates. In particular, we test the plausibility of this technique by focusing on the climate from 360 to 260 Ma, a time in which the Siberian landmass was in middle to high latitudes, yet had little or no permanent land ice. Our climate model simulations predict a lower limit for C[O.sub.2]--the value beneath which Siberia acquires 'excess' ice. Simulations provide little new information for the period in which Siberia was at a relatively low paleoaltitude (360-340 Ma), but model results imply that paleo-C[O.sub.2] levels had to be greater than 2-4x modern values to be consistent with an apparently ice-free Siberia in the late Permian. These results for the later period in general agree with soil C[O.sub.2] proxies and the timing of Gondwanan deglaciation, thus providing support for a significant C[O.sub.2] increase before the end-Permian boundary event. Our technique may be applicable to other time intervals of unipolar glaciation. Keywords: paleoclimate, paleoatmosphere, carbon dioxide, glaciation.

Author(s): Gabriele C. Hegerl (corresponding author) [1]; Thomas J. Crowley [1]; William T. Hyde [1]; David J. Frame [2] There is a Brief Communications Arising (01 March 2007) associated with [...]

Adolescent inhalant users are significantly more likely than other patients to have conduct disorder, to report abuse and neglect, and to have previously attempted suicide. Yet little has been published regarding treatment outcome for inhalant users. Methods: Eighty male adolescents admitted to a residential treatment program underwent baseline assessment during treatment, and follow-up assessment at two-years post admission. Subjects reporting any lifetime inhalant use at baseline (n = 34) were compared to the other patients (n = 46) on 4 outcome variables. Results: Adolescents reporting any lifetime inhalant use at baseline assessment reported twice as many past-year conduct disorder symptoms at two-year follow up (p = 0.03). The relationship between inhalant use and conduct disorder symptoms remained significant (p = 0.03) in analyses that controlled for age, time in jail or restricted environments in the 6-months preceding follow-up, as well as baseline-reported lifetime number of conduct disorder symptoms. Inhalant users were not significantly worse on these other outcome measures: crime in the last month (p = 0.60), days of nontobacco substance use in the last 6 months (p = 0.65), or, commission of selected crimes in the last 6 months (p = 0.06). Conclusions: Inhalant use among adolescent males in treatment for substance and behavior problems may predict more severe conduct disorder symptoms after treatment. Keywords: Huffing, volatile solvent abuse, toluene, paint, thinner, INTRODUCTION Inhalant abuse and dependence as defined by the DSM-IV (1) are relatively uncommon. Approximately 0.4% of individuals 12-17 years of age in 2002 met criteria for past-year inhalant abuse [...]

The prevalence of heroin use is rising among young people. We reviewed descriptive and treatment studies of heroin-using youth. Medline and Psychinfo were searched with the following kewords: heroin or opiate; and adolescent or young or juvenile. Nine articles describing treatment and five articles describing clinical characteristics of youth with heroin use were reviewed. Descriptive studies of heroin-using youth demonstrate substantial polysubstance use and psychiatric comorbidity. The largest treatment study found that, of four different treatment modalities, methadone maintenance had the highest retention rate. For youth who stayed in treatment for at least 6 months, therapeutic communities or drug-free treatment resulted in better outcomes compared with methadone maintenance. No controlled treatment trials were found. Length of time in treatment, regardless of modality, was the best predictor of outcome. The rise of heroin use among adolescents and young adults calls for descriptive studies as well as controlled treatment studies. Keywords: Adolescents; Heroin; Methadone; Delinquency

Author(s): William T. Hyde [1]; Thomas J. Crowley [1]; Steven K. Baum [1]; W. Richard Peltier [2] Some of the most dramatic events in the Earth's history occurred at the [...]

The 'Medieval Warm Period' is studied to determine its actual warmth and the possible implications it may have to 20th century warming. There is evidence of brief warming periods between 1010-1190, but any implications are inconclusive.

Selected family variables, especially maternal behaviors, were studied as predictors of alcohol and drug misuse in severely disturbed adolescent boys from largely father-absent homes. The families of 50 male youths (mean age 15.8 years) in a residential center for alcohol and substance misuse were compared with the families of a community control group (mean age 16.3 years). Within-subject group comparisons also were made. Family structure, interactive processes, maternal and paternal alcohol and substance use, and criminality were assessed through direct interview and/or self-report. The families of alcohol-and substance-misusing boys were markedly disadvantaged or impaired on numerous family structure, process, and substance-misusing behavioral variables in comparison with community controls. Within the alcohol- and substance-misusing group itself, family process variables, maternal alcohol symptoms, and maternal criminality differentiated boys with more vs. less severe drug-dependence symptoms. Maternal alcohol problems and criminality were more important than family process variables. Paternal alcohol or substance misuse or criminality did not differentiate proband symptom severity. We concluded that maternal alcohol symptoms and criminality differentiate severity of drug dependence in severely disturbed, substance-misusing adolescent males from largely father-absent homes. Maternal substance misuse should be evaluated carefully in adolescent substance abuse treatment settings., INTRODUCTION Both genetic and family environment variables are recognized contributors to alcoholism and/or drug abuse/dependence. Genetic factors have been studied most in relation to father--son or male offspring alcohol or [...]

The ECHAM3/LSG coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model has been used in a sensitivity experiment to assess the stability of the thermohaline circulation against meltwater input into the Labrador Sea. The results support a mainly atmospheric forcing of North Pacific climate variations. There is clear evidence for the influence of variations in North Atlantic Deep Water formation on the North Pacific. This can be seen as an explanation for changes in both the North Atlantic and the North Pacific in the Younger Dryas.

We examined adolescents with conduct disorder (CD) and substance problems to determine if those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptomatology had more severe delinquency and substance involvement. ADHD symptomatology was assessed in two ways: (1) by self-reports using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC) and (2) by use of DISC plus reports of others (parents, program staff, and program teacher). We divided boys into three ADHD groups based on DISC: those who met criteria, those who reported at least eight current symptoms, and those who reported fewer than eight symptoms. We also divided the same boys into two groups: those with reports of ADHD by two or more sources and those without this multisource ADHD. Examining these definitions of ADHD revealed that boys with either self- or multisource ADHD had more CD symptoms, earlier age of CD onset, more substance dependence diagnoses, and more comorbid depression and anxiety.

Alkaline sodium borohydride is used to examine the chemical reduction of nitroaromatic compounds. Exposure of the compounds to ultraviolet wavelengths greater than 280 nm strongly enhanced decomposition in the presence of excess borohydride. When illuminated in the absence of oxygen, rates of disappearance for four tested nitroaromatic compounds were even higher. The reaction mixture contained a number of denitration, desulfonation, reduction and condensation products.

Geologic studies provide a valuable perspective on the importance of greenhouse forcing for climate change. On both Pleistocene and tectonic time scales, changes in climate are positively correlated with greenhouse gas variations. However, the sensitivity of the system to greenhouse gas changes cannot yet be constrained by paleoclimate data below its present large range. Geologic records do not support one of the major predictions of greenhouse models - namely, that tropical sea surface temperatures will increase. Geologic data also suggest that winter cooling in high-latitude land areas is less than predicted by models. As the above-mentioned predictions appear to be systemic features of the present generation of climate models, some significant changes in model design may be required to reconcile models and geologic data. However, full acceptance of this conclusion requires more measurements and more systematic compilations of existing geologic data. Since progress in data collection in this area has been quite slow, uncertainties associated with these conclusions may persist for some time.

A DNA-binding Drosophila gene product related to the TATA-binding protein (TBP) has been cloned and characterized. The TBP-related factor has considerable sequence similarity to TBP and is not likely to to be a basal transcription factor. Evidence suggests that the factor has the DNA-binding properties of TBP and is a sequence-specific transcription factor. TBP has been shown to play an important role in eukaryotic gene transcription.

Research indicates that photochemical processes - whether induced by sunlight or by actinic radiation - can effectively degrade wastewater contaminants. One University of Illinois study of the effect of ring substituents on photolysis rates found tetraacetylriboflavin (RTA) to be an especially effective photosensitizer, compared to riboflavin and anilines. Study results indicate that RTA might be a potentially useful catalyst for water pollution remediation. Experimental procedures and results are described in detail.

IN THEIR VIEWPOINT 'GENOMIC PRIORITIES AND public health' (Special Section on Genomic Medicine, 24 Oct., p. 599), K. R. Merikangas and N. Risch propose that diseases appearing to be 'highly [...]

The theory of orbital forcing of Pleistocene climates (1) has received a substantial level of empirical support in the last two decades (2). However, two recent pieces of evidence indicate [...], During the last interglacial, sea level was as high as present, 4000 to 6000 years before peak Northern Hemisphere insolation receipt 126,000 years ago. The sea-level results are shown to be consistent with climate models, which simulate a 3° to 4°C July temperat increase from 140,000 to 130,000 years ago in high latitudes, with all Northern Hemisphere land areas being warmer than present by 130,000 years ago. The early warming occurs because obliquity peaked earlier than precession and because precession values were greater than present before peak precessional forcing occurred. These results indicate that a fuller understanding of the Milankovitch-climate connection requires consideration of fields other than just insolation forcing at 65°N.

SINCE THE PUBLICATION OF THE historic Hays, Imbrie, and Shackleton paper in 1976 [1], a great deal of attention has been given to the origin of the dominant 100-ky orbital [...], A number of pre-Pleistocene climate records exhibit significant fluctuations at the 100,000-year (100-ky) eccentricity period, before the time of such fluctuations in global volume. The origin of these fluctuations has been obscure. Results reported here from a modeling study suggest that such a response can occur over low-latitude land areas involved in monsoon fluctuations. The twice yearly passage of the sun across the equator and the seasonal timing of perihelion interact to increase both 100-ky and 400-ky power in the modeled temperature field. The magnitude of the temperature response is sufficiently large to leave an imprint on the geologic record, and simulated fluctuations resemble those found in records of Triassic lake levels.

HEMISPHERIC MEAN TEMPERATURES THAT have been reconstructed with a wide range of climate proxies indicate that temperatures were warmer in Medieval times than during the subsequent 'Little Ice Age' (~1550 [...]

Geologists have long known that on time scales of tens of millions of years, intervals of continental glaciation were interspersed with times of little or no ice. The magnitude of [...]

The origin of the late-20th-century increase in global temperatures has prompted considerable discussion. Detailed comparisons of climate model results with observations (1) suggest that anthropogenic changes, particularly greenhouse gas (GHG) [...], Recent reconstructions of Northern Hemisphere temperatures and climate forcing over the past 1000 years allow the warming of the 20th century to be placed within a historical context and various mechanisms of climate change to be tested. Comparisons of observations with simulations from an energy balance climate model indicate that as much as 41 to 64% of preanthropogenic (pre-1850) decadal-scale temperature variations was due to changes in solar irradiance and volcanism. Removal of the forced response from reconstructed temperature time series yields residuals that show similar variability to those of control runs of coupled models, thereby lending support to the models' value as estimates of low-frequency variability in the climate system. Removal of all forcing except greenhouse gases from the ~1000-year time series results in a residual with a very large late-20th-century warming that closely agrees with the response predicted from greenhouse gas forcing. The combination of a unique level of temperature increase in the late 20th century and improved constraints on the role of natural variability provides further evidence that the greenhouse effect has already established itself above the level of natural variability in the climate system. A 21st-century global warming projection far exceeds the natural variability of the past 1000 years and is greater than the best estimate of global temperature change for the last interglacial.

A device that creates an air pocket and diverts expired carbon dioxide away from the air pocket can extend the life of victims caught in an avalanche. Researchers tested a device called AvaLung, manufactured by Black Diamond Equipment Ltd, in Salt Lake City, Utah, on 6 male and 2 female volunteers. The device is built into a vest that is worn over all other clothing. The device substantially extended the time the volunteers could spend under snow until their blood oxygen levels became too low, from 10 minutes to one hour.

The Discovery of Global Warming by Spencer R. Weart Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 2003. 240 pp. $24.95, 16.95 £, 23.10 €. ISBN 0-674-01157-0 I must admit to some skepticism [...]

At the recent American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco, the 25th anniversary of one of the great papers in paleoclimatology was celebrated (1). The paper, entitled 'Variations in the [...]

The seasonal cycle of temperatures on Pangaea (early Late Permian configuration) is simulated with a two-dimensional energy-balance climate model. Results indicate that the annual range of temperatures in the Southern Hemisphere of Pangaea was considerably larger than any occurring at present. Maximum mean monthly summer temperatures are 38 [degrees] C; daytime highs probably exceed 45 [degrees] C in some regions. However, summer temperatures in polar regions are considerably lower (0-5 [degrees] C) and are favorable for persistence of ice in eastern Australia and glaciation in Siberia--conditions that receive some support from geologic data. These simulations suggest that very high summer temperatures and a large annual range are major features of supercontinent environments. Such conditions may have significantly influenced the distribution of terrestrial Permian biota. Our results are difficult to reconcile with postulated 'equable' climates for some supercontinent configurations.

Abrupt Climate Change and Extinction Events in Earth History THE STUDY OF EXTINCTION EVENTS DURING EARTH HISTORY was given considerable impetus by the hypothesis of an asteroid impact at the [...]