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The World Wide Web (the Web) presents a new dimension in the provision of information, not just for entertainment and for business, but also for education. This paper reports on the integration of e-mail and the Web into a third year accounting systems course. The Web was used both to supplant traditional lecture-based teaching and as the vehicle for a significant portion of the summative assessment on the course. e-mail was used for communication with the students, for submission to the tutors of their Web assignment and for feedback to the students on the assignment. Student views on the innovation are also reported and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs), colloquially known as "spice," are commonly used in prisons and enter establishments via the mail in the form of infused papers. Many prisons use benchtop ion mobility spectroscopy (IMS) instruments to screen mail and seized materials for the presence of SCRAs and other controlled substances. The selectivity and sensitivity of Rapiscan Itemiser ® 3E and Itemiser ® 4DN Ion Trap Mobility Spectroscopy™ (ITMS™) systems were evaluated using 21 SCRA reference standards. Some differences in the SCRA reduced mobility (K 0 ) values were observed between this study and those reported previously using IMS detection systems, particularly for cumyl and quinolinyl SCRAs (e.g., 5F-PB-22, Cumyl-4CN-BINACA, and 5F-Cumyl-PEGACLONE), although this was found to have little effect at an operational level. Operational reliability of the systems was evaluated by analyzing 392 paper and card samples with known drug content. ITMS™ system results (e.g., detect or nondetect) were in agreement with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis in up to 95% of samples tested. Overall, this study found the ITMS™ systems tested to be effective instruments when deployed for the rapid detection of SCRA-infused papers. Used effectively and with up-to-date substance libraries, they will help reduce the supply of SCRAs into prisons and identify emerging threats as they arise. Several emerging SCRAs (5F-MPP-PICA, 5F-EMB-PICA, and 4F-MDMB-BICA) were detected for the first time in Scottish prisons between May and August 2020 as a result of routine monitoring, and all were detected using the ITMS™ systems tested., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) elicit many of their psychoactive effects via type-1 human cannabinoid (CB 1 ) receptors. Enantiomer pairs of eight tert-leucinate or valinate indole- and indazole-3-carboxamide SCRAs were synthesized and their CB 1 potency and efficacy assessed using an in vitro β-arrestin recruitment assay in a HEK239T stable cell system. A chiral high-performance liquid chromatography method with photodiode array and/or quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrometry detection (HPLC-PDA and HPLC-PDA-QToF-MS) was applied to 177 SCRA-infused paper samples seized in Scottish prisons between 2018 and 2020. In most samples, SCRAs were almost enantiopure (S)-enantiomer (>98% of total chromatographic peak area), although in some (n = 18), 2% to 16% of the (R)-enantiomer was detected. (S)-enantiomers are consistently more potent than (R)-enantiomers and often more efficacious. The importance of SCRA-CB 1 receptor interactions in the "head" or "linked group" moiety is demonstrated, with the conformation of the "bulky" tert-leucinate group greatly affecting potency (by up to a factor of 374), significantly greater than the difference observed between valinate SCRA enantiomers. (S)-MDMB-4en-PINACA, (S)-4F-MDMB-BINACA, and (S)-5F-MDMB-PICA are currently the most prevalent SCRAs in Scottish prisons, and all have similar high potency (EC 50 , 1-5 nM) and efficacy. Infused paper samples were compared using estimated intrinsic efficacy at the CB 1 receptor (EIE CB1 ) to evaluate samples with variable SCRA content. Given their similar potency and efficacy, any variation in CB 1 receptor-mediated psychoactive effects are likely to derive from variation in dose, mode of use, pharmacokinetic differences, and individual factors affecting the user, rather than differences in the specific SCRA present., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Background: Paper questionnaires are a common means to collect self-reported information in population-based epidemiological studies. Over the past decades, the response rates to epidemiological studies have been decreasing which can affect the selection process of eligible subjects and lead to non-response bias. Hence, research into strategies to increase questionnaire response rates is crucial. The aim of this study was therefore to explore the effectiveness of single-sided questionnaires and an internet option for response in increasing response rates to a population-based study., Methods: A 2 × 2 factorial experiment was embedded within a large population-based study of pain and pain management. Persons in the study sample were 4600 residents in Grampian (north of Scotland) aged 25 years and over who were randomly selected from health board records. Sampled persons were randomly assigned to either receive a single-sided or double-sided questionnaire with or without an internet option to respond. The study questionnaire was distributed via post., Results: The overall study response rate was 36.3%. When compared to the reference group that received no intervention (response rate = 35.5%), the response rate changed only marginally when single-sided questionnaires were distributed (35.8%) or when an option to reply via the internet was provided (34.3%). A somewhat higher increase in response rates was achieved when both strategies were employed (39.6%). Overall, no significant effect on response rate was determined for each strategy or their interaction., Conclusions: Evidence from this study suggests that neither single-sided questionnaires nor the option to reply via the internet resulted in a significant increase in response rates to population-based studies.

To assess possible health risks associated with the manufacture of paper, we carried out a retrospective analysis of mortality among 4,242 men and women employed at a Scottish paper mill between 1955 and 1992. During follow-up to 1994, 959 subjects had died giving an SMR of 0.85 (95% CI 0.80-0.90) in comparison with the national population. Mortality from all cancer (SMR 0.77, 95% CI 0.68-0.88) and particularly from lung cancer (SMR 0.64, 95% CI 0.50-0.81) was lower than expected. An excess of lymphatic and hematopoietic cancer (11 deaths, SMR 2.17) was observed in the making department. These findings do not support an occupational hazard of lung cancer as suggested by several earlier studies. The excess of lymphatic and hematopoietic cancer in the making department was unexpected, and may be a chance occurrence.

A simple, inexpensive microbiological assay for objective measurement of denture hygiene has been devised. Small individual filter paper discs were applied to the fitting surface of dentures for 20 seconds, eluted in phosphate buffered saline and bacterial counts on blood agar plates performed on the eluate. There was a strong positive correlation between denture cleanliness (graded on a scale of 0 to 4) and both total anaerobic count (r = 0.829; P < 0.001) and total aerobic count (r = 0.786; P < 0.001) following logarithmic transformation. Yeasts in the eluted disc specimens could be used as an aid to diagnose oral candidiasis. The method provided an objective measure of denture hygiene among elderly patients in longstay hospitals and daycare community places. It may be applicable to audit studies following implementation of new oral health care policies.