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Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have made notable social, cultural, and economic contributions to the African Diaspora, particularly since their inception in the United States. Being that HBCU athletic programs account for a small proportion of the intercollegiate athletic industry, these unique entities are often examined in the same vein as their Historically White Institution counterparts without a full account of the intergenerational adverse impacts of systemic racism. Since HBCUs are situated within the distinct context of Blackness, the researchers offer a reconceptualization through the theoretical lens of Black Critical Theory. This manuscript illuminates linkages across extant literature, while also presenting a budding theoretical framework in the study of sport, and sport organizations, that have deeply embedded relationships with communities, for example, HBCUs and the Black community, stickball and lacrosse within Indigenous communities, and the relationship between women and womens' sports leagues. Implications of this work are centered on promoting more critical reconceptualizations of sporting spaces that reflect the full diversity of the societies in which they exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-Hispanic Black (Black) and Hispanic/Latino (Latino) populations face an increased risk of COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19 relative to non-Hispanic White (White) populations. When COVID-19 vaccines became available in December 2020, Black and Latino adults were less likely than White adults to get vaccinated due to factors such as racial discrimination and structural barriers to uptake. In April 2021, the U.S. HHS COVID-19 public education campaign (the Campaign) was launched to promote vaccination through general and audience-tailored messaging. As of March 2022, Black and Latino adults had reached parity with White adults in COVID-19 vaccine uptake. This study evaluated the relationship between Campaign exposure and subsequent vaccine uptake among Black, Latino, and White adults in the United States and assessed whether participant race/ethnicity moderated the relationship between Campaign exposure and vaccine uptake. Campaign media delivery data was merged with survey data collected from a sample of U.S. adults (n = 2,923) over four waves from January 2021 to March 2022. Logistic regression analysis showed that cumulative Campaign digital impressions had a positive, statistically significant association with COVID-19 vaccine uptake, and that participant race/ethnicity moderated this association. Compared with White adults, the magnitude of the relationship between cumulative impressions and vaccination was greater among Black and Latino adults. Results from a simulation model suggested that the Campaign may have been responsible for closing 5.0% of the gap in COVID-19 vaccination by race/ethnicity from April to mid-September 2021. We discuss implications for future public education campaigns that aim to reduce health disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public health campaigns have turned to the Health Belief Model (HBM) as a guiding framework for the past six decades. Carpenter’s 2010 HBM meta-analysis revealed important shortcomings as well as a path forward that has largely been ignored by recent COVID-19 research using this framework. Consistent with Carpenter’s recommendations, this study on the uptake of the first COVID-19 booster vaccine focused on the overlooked interactional processes of the original HBM founders. Our study used SEM and Hayes’s PROCESS 4.1 to explore the possibilities of the interdependent nature of the core three beliefs to form a model that is integrated. The study indicated that the core variables of the original HBM were significant predictors of the intent to take the first COVID-19 booster vaccine when considered in an interactional process framework. Our study results have implications for those designing public health advocacy campaigns regarding COVID-19 as it enters an endemic stage with future vaccines and medications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Injury to hyaline cartilage is problematic for both patients and physicians due to a limited potential for cartilage to heal. In the case of large chondral lesions, osteochondral allograft transplantation (OCA) is a popular and effective treatment modality with well-reported outcomes. However, given the costs of surgical operations in the United States, most patients require reimbursements through private insurance payers. It has previously been reported that the literature that substantiates the private commercial payers' policies regarding certain orthopaedic procedures is based on low level of evidence studies. However, to the best of our knowledge, this information is not available regarding policies on OCA. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine the level of evidence of the referenced cited in the policies regarding OCA for the leading commercial payers in the United States and to determine whether these references investigated the criteria that has been established by the payers. Methods: Ten national commercial private health insurance payers were identified. These payers included Centene Corporation, United Healthcare, Humana, Health Care Service Corporation, Cigna, Kaiser Permanente, WellCare Health Plans, The UPMC Health Plan, Anthem, and Aetna. Each payer was contacted either via phone or email to obtain their coverage policies regarding OCA. For each policy, all references related to OCA were collected for a standardized review completed by reviewers. The information collected included the criteria set by each policy, level of evidence of each reference, and whether the cited reference investigated the commercial payers' eligibility criteria for OCA. Results: Six main private health insurance companies had publicly available and current medical policies on osteochondral allograft transplants, including Centene Corporation, United Healthcare, Humana, Health Care Service Corporation, Cigna, and Aetna. A total of 110 references were found amongst these six medical healthcare providers of which 65 (59%) are primary journal articles, 29 (26%) are reviews or expert opinion articles, 5 (4.5%) are government reports, 6 (5.5%) are society guidelines, 3 (2.7%) are websites, 1 (1%) are rated as miscellaneous and 1 (1%) could not be found/accessed. Of the 102 references that were accessible, 1 reference showed a level of evidence (LOE) I (1%), 12 with LOE II (12%), 7 with LOE III (7%), 57 with LOE IV(57%), and 18 with LOE V(18%). The remaining 6 references had either a variable LOE or where an LOE rating was deemed unapplicable. Of the six main private health insurance medical policies attained, five (excluding United Healthcare) had corresponding publicly accessible medical necessity guidelines outlining criteria for procedural approval. From these five private health insurance companies, 22 of the 91 references directly tested for any of the listed medical necessity criteria. Amongst references directly testing the medical necessity criteria, 19 (86%) had a LOE IV, 1 (4.5%) with LOE I, 1 (4.5%) with LOE II, and 1 (4.5%) with a variable LOE. Conclusions: Analyzing commercial payers' policies highlights that the majority of cited references that substantiate these policies are of low level of evidence. Furthermore, less than a quarter (24.2%) of references directly investigate the policy's medical necessity. This perhaps illustrates a combination of a lack of high-quality studies investigating OCA and selective reporting of literature by these commercial payers. Patients and surgeons will benefit from future studies aimed at increasing awareness of the quality of evidence that helps establish commercial payers' policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Total ankle arthroplasty (TAA), first developed as an alternative to ankle arthrodesis, has become an increasingly popular management option for end-stage ankle arthritis. Prior studies have shown commercial insurance payers base their coverage criteria on limited and low level of evidence research. This study aims to quantify and describe the evidence insurance companies use to support TAA coverage policies. Methods: The top 11 national commercial health insurance payers for TAA were identified. A google search was performed to identify payer coverage policies. Policy documents were examined and cited references were classified by type of reference as well as reviewed for level of evidence (LOE). Specific coverage criteria for each individual payer were then extracted. Criteria were compared to assess for similarities among commercial payers. Finally, all references cited by each payer were examined to determine whether they mentioned the specific payer criteria. Results: Six of the 11 payers had accessible coverage policies. The majority of cited references were primary journal articles (145, 60.9%) and the majority of references cited (179, 75.2%) were level III or level IV evidence. We found significant homogeneity in coverage criteria among payers. In addition, cited sources inconsistently mentioned specific payer coverage criteria. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that commercial insurance payers rely on the relatively low level of currently available scientific evidence when formulating coverage policies for TAA use and adopt criteria that have not been thoroughly analyzed in the literature. More high level of evidence research is needed to help clinicians and insurance companies further refine indications for TAA so that patients who might benefit from the procedure are adequately covered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite known surgical volume reductions in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, no studies have quantified the impact of the pandemic on the number of inpatient anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty (aTSA), reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (rTSA) and hemiarthroplasty cases. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on aTSA, rTSA and hemiarthroplasty case volumes in the United States. The Premier Health-care Database was used to identify adults undergoing primary inpatient aTSA, rTSA and hemiarthroplasty from January 2017 to December 2020. Patients undergoing revision total shoulder arthroplasty surgery were excluded. The monthly case volume variance in 2020 was calculated by subtracting the 2017-2019 monthly mean from each respective monthly mean in 2020. Differences in patient and hospital characteristics between subgroups were analyzed using analysis of variance for continuous variables and chi-squared for categorical variables. All statistical analysis was done using STATA (version 17BE; StataCorp LLC, College Station, TX, USA). A total of 127,496 cases were identified using the Premier Healthcare Database from January 2017 to December 2020. Anatomic TSA accounted for 30.67% of all cases, rTSA represented 63.55%, and hemiarthroplasty accounted for 5.78%. A precipitous decline in cases was observed in March and April of 2020, with aTSA declining by 97%, rTSA declining by 83% and hemiarthroplasty declining by 77% from their prepandemic monthly averages. Cases rebounded in May and peaked by June (rTSA and hemiarthroplasty) or July (aTSA). Cases slightly declined in August, rebounded in September, and declined again at the end of the year. The average length of stay in 2020 was slightly longer for aTSA (1.87 to 2.12 days, P <.0001) and hemiarthroplasty (2.08 to 2.49 days, P =.0021), but slightly shorter for rTSA (1.92 to 1.64 days, P <.0001). We estimated that a total of 29,951 cases were performed in 2020, representing a 7.8% decrease compared with the average from 2017 through 2019, with roughly 2564 patients either delayed or unable to undergo arthroplasty in 2020. Based on data from the Premier database, COVID-19 had a negative impact on the case volume of inpatient shoulder replacement (aTSA, rTSA and hemiarthroplasty) surgery in the United States. By the end of 2020, rTSA cases had returned to its monthly average in the years preceding the pandemic, while aTSA and hemiarthroplasty recovered to roughly 75% of their prepandemic case volumes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As concerns about the effects of health misinformation rise, understanding why misbeliefs are accepted is increasingly important. People believe repeated statements more than novel statements, an effect known as truth by repetition, however this has not been examined in the context of tobacco information. Misbeliefs about tobacco are rampant and novel facts about tobacco are viewed as less believable. This paper examines how repetition of true and false tobacco statements affects truth perceptions. We recruited an online sample of 1,436 U.S. adults in May 2021. In an exposure phase, each participant rated their interest in 30 randomly selected statements about tobacco products and general knowledge trivia, half of them true and half false. The study had a two (tobacco product) by two (familiarity of statement claim) between-subjects design and a two (statement truth) by two (statement repetition) within-subjects design. During the testing phase participants rated the truthfulness of 24 repeated statements and 24 unseen statements. Repetition of true and false tobacco statements increased their subjective truth (diff=.20, p <.001), and the effect was larger for false claims compared to true claims. This underscores the importance of strategies to inoculate people against misinformation and calls for interventions that can stop the repetition of newly generated false claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the effect of online comments on smokers' attitude toward trying e-cigarettes. It also explored the effect of an unobtrusive forewarning in increasing smokers' resistance to online review fraud. 739 adult smokers participated in an experiment with a 2 comment valence (supportive vs. oppositional) x 3 comment deception warning (no warning vs. early warning vs. late warning) + 1 control (no comment) factorial design. Smokers watched two e-cigarette commercials. The control group received only the ads. The treatment groups saw 10 to 12 comments following each ad. Main Outcome Measure: E-cigarette attitude. Smokers who read supportive (M = 5.28, SD = 1.37), oppositional (M = 4.96, SD = 1.53), and no comment (M = 5.44, SD = 1.20) showed significant difference on their e-cigarettes attitude, p =.004. When the comment climate was overly in favor of e-cigarettes, warning smokers of review fraud could raise their awareness of comment deception, increase defensive processing, decrease their social identification with commenters, and eventually lower their interest in trying e-cigarettes. The overall opinion climate in the form of aggregated valence of comments could sway smokers' e-cigarette attitude. Smokers could benefit from warnings of online review fraud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) was first used in the 1970s. Its use is increasingly common in critical care and perioperative settings and has gained newfound prominence during COVID-19. To guide future research, we conducted a bibliometric analysis of ECMO literature. Thomson Reuters Web of Science was searched to March 7, 2021. Articles were ranked by total number of citations. Data was extracted from the 100 most cited papers relevant to ECMO for study design, topic, author, year, and institution. Journal impact factor for 2019 and Eigenfactor scores were also recorded. Our search retrieved a total of 18,802 articles. Median number of citations for the top 100 articles was 220 (range 157–1,819). These were published in 34 journals, with first authors originating from 15 countries. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery had the highest number of articles (n59) while Lancet publications had the most citations (n53,191). Use of ECMO was most commonly observed in cardiogenic shock or acute respiratory distress syndrome. United States had the greatest article output (n549). With 10 publications, 2013 was the most prolific year. Using linear regression, when controlled for time since publication, there was no statistically significant relationship between 2019 journal impact factor and number of article citations (p5.09). Top articles in the ECMO literature are of considerable impact and quality. As the United States produced the bulk of the prominent evidence base, and most data were regarding respiratory issues, outsized advances in ECMO may be possible within the United States during the COVID-19 era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rare, chronic diseases such as hemophilia and other congenital coagulation disorders require coordinated delivery of services for optimal outcomes. Hemophilia Treatment Centers (HTCs) are specialized, multidisciplinary health-care centers providing team-based care to meet the physical, psychosocial, and emotional needs of people with hemophilia (PWH) and may serve as a model for other rare coagulation disorders. Health-care purchasers, as well as the general medical community, may not appreciate the breadth and quality of services provided by HTCs. They exemplify the acculturalization and actualization of integrated care by providing comprehensive diagnostic and treatment services that reduce morbidity, mortality, avoidable emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and overall costs, while promoting a longer lifespan and improved patient functioning and outcomes. This is accomplished by a team-based approach relying upon a shared decision-making model to effectively prevent complications and manage symptoms in PWH, who are dependent on high-cost treatments. This article provides a concise yet comprehensive description of the core components of an HTC and the regional and national networks in the United States, which together achieve their incomparable value for all stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Exposure to media content can shape public opinions about tobacco. In early September 2019, the outbreak of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use–associated lung injury (EVALI) became headline news in the United States. Methods: In August and September 2019, we conducted two cross-sectional online surveys with current and former smokers assessing attitudes and beliefs about e-cigarettes. Study one (n = 865) was collected before the EVALI outbreak was widely covered and study two (n = 344) was collected after the outbreak had become nation-wide news. We examined differences in perceptions and beliefs between time points. Results: E-cigarette harm perceptions increased between study one (mean = 2.67) and study two (mean = 2.90, p <.05). Ever-users of e-cigarettes largely account for this change. Endorsement of the belief that e-cigarettes were risky and more likely to cause lung damage compared to cigarettes increased between studies (p <.05). Seventy eight percent of participants at study two were aware of the vaping illness story. Being aware of the story was associated with more endorsement of the belief that e-cigarettes were risky to use, but not that using e-cigarettes would make the participant more likely to get damaged lungs. Discussion: When the stories about the health and safety of tobacco products dominate the public information environment, it presents an opportunity to change beliefs that are frequently targeted by paid health campaigns. Changes in participant's perceptions of e-cigarettes were associated with coverage of this large news story, underscoring the importance of working to ensure that coverage is a scientifically accurate as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Projected increases in extreme weather may change relationships between rain-related climate exposures and diarrheal disease. Whether rainfall increases or decreases diarrhea rates is unclear based on prior literature. The concentration-dilution hypothesis suggests that these conflicting results are explained by the background level of rain: Rainfall following dry periods can flush pathogens into surface water, increasing diarrhea incidence, whereas rainfall following wet periods can dilute pathogen concentrations in surface water, thereby decreasing diarrhea incidence. OBJECTIVES: In this analysis, we explored the extent to which the concentration-dilution hypothesis is supported by published literature. METHODS: To this end, we conducted a systematic search for articles assessing the relationship between rain, extreme rain, flood, drought, and season (rainy vs. dry) and diarrheal illness. RESULTS: A total of 111 articles met our inclusion criteria. Overall, the literature largely supports the concentration-dilution hypothesis. In particular, extreme rain was associated with increased diarrhea when it followed a dry period [incidence rate ratio (IRR)= 1.26; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05, 1.51], with a tendency toward an inverse association for extreme rain following wet periods, albeit nonsignificant, with one of four relevant studies showing a significant inverse association (IRR = 0.911; 95% CI: 0.771, 1.08). Incidences of bacterial and parasitic diarrhea were more common during rainy seasons, providing pathogen-specific support for a concentration mechanism, but rotavirus diarrhea showed the opposite association. Information on timing of cases within the rainy season (e.g., early vs. late) was lacking, limiting further analysis. We did not find a linear association between nonextreme rain exposures and diarrheal disease, but several studies found a nonlinear association with low and high rain both being associated with diarrhea. DISCUSSION: Our meta-analysis suggests that the effect of rainfall depends on the antecedent conditions. Future studies should use standard, clearly defined exposure variables to strengthen understanding of the relationship between rainfall and diarrheal illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to identify key factors associated with the academic achievement and positive college experiences among Black male student athletes at a Historically Black University (HBU) in the Southeastern United States (U.S.). A concurrent triangulation exploratory design allowed both qualitative and quantitative data to be collected simultaneously and converged during the analysis phase (Creswell, 2009). Participants in this study included current Black male student athletes who participated in football and men's basketball at a HBU in the Southeastern U.S. Using aspects of the grounded theoretical approach for analysis (Glaser & Strauss, 1967), the following emergent themes were identified: "You Got a Chance," "An Opportunity," "Not Just a Number," "It's Hard, But It's Not Impossible" and "As An Athlete It Makes Your Social Life a Little Easier." Implications for policy and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Warning labels on tobacco products sometimes feature images and stories of real people whose health has been affected by smoking. We examined effects of some of the design elements that may contribute to the effectiveness of these testimonial pictorial warning labels (PWLs). Beginning with a testimonial PWL that contained an image of a person and a basic warning statement (e.g., "Smoking can kill you"), we examined the impact of adding: (a) text detailing the person's name, age and health status (identifiers); and (b) explanatory statements that elaborated on the basic warning using a testimonial or non-testimonial message. In an online experiment, 1255 adult smokers in the United States were randomly assigned to one of six experimental conditions (2 [identifier: none/identifier] × 3 [explanatory statement: none/non-testimonial/testimonial]), or a control condition (text only warning labels that currently appear on packs in the United States). In each condition, participants were exposed to multiple labels each focused on a different health effect. Effectiveness was assessed using emotional responses, engagement and behavioral intentions measured immediately post-exposure, and quit attempts measured at five-week follow up. Testimonial PWLs were more effective than the text only labels. However, there was little evidence that adding identifiers or the explanatory statements enhanced effectiveness; rather, there was some evidence that testimonial explanatory statements reduced effectiveness. These findings suggest that the most effective design for testimonial PWLs may be to combine a basic warning statement with an image of a real person, without any additional textual components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears is a devastating injury and one of the most common knee injuries experienced by athletes in the United States. Although patients reach maximal subjective improvement by one-year following ACL reconstruction, many patients often experience moderate to severe post-operative pain. Opioids, intra-articular injections, and regional anesthesia have been previously implemented to mediate post-operative pain. However, chronic opioid usage has become an epidemic in the United States. Alternative analgesic modalities, such as nerve blocks, have been implemented in clinical practice to provide adequate pain relief and minimize opioid usage. Periarticular injections targeted towards local neurological structures performed concomitantly with nerve blocks provides superior pain relief and satisfaction than isolated nerve blocks. Therefore, it is imperative for physicians to understand local neurological anatomy around the knee joint in order to provide adequate analgesia while minimizing opioid consumption. This purpose of this investigation is to summarize (1) neurogenic origins of pain generators and mediators in sites affected by ACL reconstruction and autograft harvest sites and (2) analgesia utilized in ACL reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider the development of algorithms for the automatic detection of buried threats using ground penetrating radar (GPR) measurements. GPR is one of the most studied and successful modalities for automatic buried threat detection (BTD), and a large variety of BTD algorithms have been proposed for it. Despite this, large-scale comparisons of GPR-based BTD algorithms are rare in the literature. In this paper, we report the results of a multi-institutional effort to develop advanced BTD algorithms for a real-world GPR BTD system. The effort involved five institutions with substantial experience with the development of GPR-based BTD algorithms. In this paper, we report the technical details of the advanced algorithms submitted by each institution, representing their latest technical advances, and many state-of-the-art GPR-based BTD algorithms. We also report the results of evaluating the algorithms from each institution on the large experimental data set used for development. The experimental data set comprised 120 000 m2 of GPR data using surface area, from 13 different lanes across two U.S. test sites. The data were collected using a vehicle-mounted GPR system, the variants of which have supplied data for numerous publications. Using these results, we identify the most successful and common processing strategies among the submitted algorithms, and make recommendations for GPR-based BTD algorithm design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the postwar period of labor unrest considerable attention has been focused on profit-sharing plans as a remedy for current industrial relations ills. Proponents of the idea insist that strikes and low productivity are twin symptoms of an internal maladjustment. The real trouble, they say, lies in the worker's fear of insecurity and his belief that he is being exploited. The solution, so runs the argument, is to hitch the wage earner's interest to the employer's profits. Both thereafter will work together in peace and harmony. And, indeed, this has been the experience in isolated cases; but most schemes have been far less successful. They have failed to show even the most elementary common sense in deyising means to create greater worker interest in the welfare of the enterprise. In a quick check of its records the National Industrial Conference Board reports that of 161 profit-sharing plans surveyed in 1937, about 60 per cent had been abandoned. The Board warned employers against too quick judgment on the advisability of following the profit-sharing movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study examines the effects of a mammography decision intervention on perceived susceptibility to breast cancer (PSBC) and emotion and investigates how these outcomes predict mammography intentions. Design: Randomised between-subjects online experiment. Participants were stratified into two levels of risk. Within each stratum, conditions included a basic information condition and six decision intervention conditions that included personalised risk estimates and varied according to a 2 (amount of information: brief vs. extended) × 3 (format: expository vs. untailored exemplar vs. tailored exemplar) design. Participants included 2465 US women ages 35-49. Main Outcome Measures: PSBC as a percentage, PSBC as a frequency, worry, fear and mammography intentions. Results: The intervention resulted in significant reductions in PSBC as a percentage for women in both strata and significant increases in worry and fear for women in the upper risk stratum. Of the possible mediators examined, only PSBC as a percentage was a consistent mediator of the effect of the intervention on mammography intentions. Conclusion: The results provide insight into the mechanism of action of the intervention by showing that PSBC mediated the effects of the intervention on mammography intentions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Pictorial warning labels (PWL) that use photographs and the personal details of real people whose health has been affected by smoking (testimonial PWL) provide factual information about the consequences of tobacco use.Methods: Nine hundred and twenty-four adult current smokers participated in an online experiment that tested responses to four types of warning labels: (1) non-testimonial text warning labels (currently on packs in the United States); (2) non-testimonial PWL (previously proposed by the United States Food and Drug Administration); (3) image only testimonial PWL (created for study); (4) image + personal details testimonial PWL (created for study). Participants were randomly assigned to condition and then exposed to up to five warning labels addressing different health effects. Differences between conditions were assessed using emotional responses and a set of intention measures immediately following exposure, and self-reported behavior change at 5-week follow-up.Results: Compared to the non-testimonial text warning labels, all PWL elicited stronger emotional responses and intentions to forgo cigarettes and avoid the warning labels. Non-testimonial PWL and image + personal details testimonial PWL elicited stronger intentions to quit, whereas image only testimonial PWL generated a greater amount of quitting activity in the weeks following exposure. There were no significant differences in responses when comparing the non-testimonial PWL with both types of testimonial PWL.Conclusions: PWL that use images of real people convey factual information about the health effects of tobacco use. These testimonial PWL may be a promising alternative to the images previously proposed for use on PWL in the United States.Implications: In the United States, the PWL developed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2011 were found by the courts to be unconstitutional, in part because they were deemed to present an opinion rather than fact. Findings from this experimental study indicate that PWL that use the images and personal details of real people to convey factual information about the health effects of tobacco use may satisfy the FDA's requirement for a set of PWL that (1) have the potential to positively impact the determinants of smoking cessation behavior, (2) meet legislative requirements under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act and (3) may be more acceptable to the courts than the previously proposed and now dismissed PWL that carried non-factual images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Standardized testing is an external control mechanism for K-12 public schools. Principals, nested between internal and external influences, must manage the tension created by testing’s roles as both an internal improvement tool and as an external control mechanism. Five competing narratives, each shaped by author academic background, significantly influence this tension. The testing literature is complex, but understanding these five main narratives can enable a principal to more effectively and proactively lead the testing narrative within their own school community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The purpose of this project was to explore the extent to which e-cigarette advertisements use youth-appealing content. Methods: A sample of e-cigarette video ads (N = 154) were coded by 3 independent coders using the content appealing to youth (CAY) index, which measures over 40 youth-appealing features. To calculate a total CAY score for each ad, scores were normalized and summed such that a higher score represented the presence of more youth-appealing elements. Results: All ads included some youth-appealing content, with frequent use of emotional appeals, including happiness (68%), friendship (41%), sex (24%), and success (24%). Over half featured animation. However, product appeals, known to be disliked by youth, were also prevalent. Eighty-seven percent used a direct appeal to e-cigarettes' value over tobacco cigarettes; 66% mentioned product composition; and 40% mentioned health. Conclusions: Given the unregulated context in the US, e-cigarette marketing currently contains many features that may be particularly appealing to youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective:The National Human Genome Research Institute has emphasised community engagement and public dialogue in the U.S. on issues related to genetics. This study examines how online discussions among the U.S. public directly or indirectly influence psychosocial constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior, including intention to take part in genetic research. Design:After completing the baseline questionnaire, participants (n = 3754) were randomly assigned to one of the following three groups: the discussion group, the pre-/post-only group and the End-of-Project group. The discussion group (n = 1824) was invited and participated in up to three online discussions, which were held from November 2008 to May 2009. Main outcome measures:Behavioural intention, beliefs, attitudes, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control variables were assessed. Results:The most interesting finding was that those participating in online discussions had fewer negative beliefs about volunteering for genetic research, which in turn contributed to more positive attitudes, increased injunctive and descriptive norms and enhanced behavioural control. These relationships, then, were associated with higher intention to participate in genetic research. Conclusion:These findings suggest that continuous public discussions seem to positively affect volunteer intention for genetic research through ameliorating fears of negative consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Social media is increasingly important in daily life and is an especially important social interaction mechanism for young people. Although research has been conducted evaluating user types based on motives for using social media, no such framework has been extended to social media websites. We extend previous research by evaluating the underlying structure of social media website usage motivations using a 13 item survey and evaluations from 19 different social media websites administered to 1686 young Americans. Using a multidimensional scaling approach, we uncover 2 major motive dimensions underlying social media website use: fun-related and content-specific. Based on the derived dimensions, we generate a graphical "quadrant" system for classifying social media websites and depict all 19 social media sites based on their quadrant. We propose that our quadrant system can be used by other researchers to further refine understanding of social media website usage motives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the legal aspects of child support (CS) payment delinquency in the U.S. as of June 2013, focusing on various CS enforcement tools for the federal government such as the U.S. Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act of 1998 and the Child Support Recovery Act of 1992. The Commerce Clause of the nation's Constitution is addressed, along with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit case United States v. Black. Federal intervention into state matters is also examined.

The purpose of this study is to identify demographic backgrounds, participation patterns, and racial perceptions of baseball student-athletes at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern United States. HBCUs were selected for this study because of the dearth of research on student-athletes at these institutions. An 11-item questionnaire and a focus group interview were used for data collection. Data were retrieved from student-athletes who participate in baseball at two selected HBCUs in the Southeastern United States. A grounded theoretical approach was used to examine demographic backgrounds, participation patterns, and racial perceptions of baseball student-athletes at HBCUs. The findings from this study revealed that increasing opportunities at all levels for Blacks to succeed in baseball is the most important way to increase Black participation in baseball. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A novel approach for setting thermal habitat recommendations for an endangered aquatic species will be proposed in this paper. The method, uniform continuous above-threshold (UCAT) analysis, evaluates the duration and frequency of continuous events in which the temperature is higher than a specified value and identifies temperature levels that, because of their rare occurrence in the past, can be considered stressor thresholds. The UCAT analysis was applied to set thermal habitat recommendations for Alasmidonta heterodon, an endangered mussel species in the Upper Delaware River. It was found that a maximum daily water temperature of 26.5°C lasting for more than 7 days is a rare event in the A. heterodon population centers in Upper Delaware River and consequently this condition should be avoided by adjusting already regulated cold-water releases from upstream reservoirs. Knowledge of temperature thresholds and their relationship with persistent low-flow periods provided further decision support for the development of flow management recommendations for species protection. The case study of A. heterodon in the Upper Delaware River demonstrates that in the absence of laboratory research on physiological temperature tolerance of a species, UCAT analysis provides an effective way to approximate habitat conditions that fall within thermal tolerances. Because of quick and easy preparation and analysis, this method may also have a broader application to habitat studies of other animal groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article features the contribution of U.S. composer Milton Babbitt as an analyst of music. Babbitt's inner workings include musical passages by a variety of composers, including Johann Sebastian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. His work covers four general concerns: music entities; musical events; pitches; and a musical idea. Babbitt made twelve-tone compositions.

The article informs regarding the insurance law of the U.S. It discusses one of the cases Derousse v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., of the Missouri Supreme Court. It mentions that the court in this case redefined the approach and created a new scope of liability in cases related to insurance law coverage for pure emotional distress caused by uninsured motorists. The traditional conservative approach of court to allow emotional damages in tort claims was revisited in this case.

The article discusses the growing number of people being divorced in the U.S. which also resulted in the rise in poverty rate. According to the author, aside from factors like shifting of religion, legal issues and social demands, man's prolonged existence contributes to ending a marriage. Data related to equitable distribution of properties among married couples and how poverty becomes a consequence of divorce are mentioned. Also discussed are prenuptial agreement and the effects of divorce on children.

In this article, the author reflects on the comparison of constitutional constraints on government searches in the U.S. and Hong Kong, China. He examines the history of the Fourth Amendment and the Hong Kong equivalent of the Fourth Amendment by looking at the intent and text of the Basic Law articles. He also discusses the judicial analysis of the constitutional law applicable to government searches in both the U.S. and Hong Kong.

Abstract: On January 14, 2004 President George W. Bush announced a major overhaul of U.S. space exploration strategy and infrastructure, stipulating that NASA complete the International Space Station (ISS) and retire the Space Shuttle fleet by 2010, develop a new suite of launch and exploration vehicles for deployment shortly thereafter, and embark on a program of human exploration of the solar system with crewed landings on the moon by 2020 and, eventually, Mars. The “Vision for Space Exploration” would be funded by resources liberated by the end of the International Space Station construction and the Shuttle program, assuming a very modestly increasing NASA budget. While this decision marks a decisive attempt to grapple with longstanding issues concerning the Space Shuttle and station, it has stimulated both optimism and fear within the space community. There is skepticism about its intent, its feasibility, and concern for the effects on various areas of space science and technology. This decision is similar to other, major such initiatives in the history of NASA and space flight, relies on longstanding scenarios and models, and much of its content has been proposed unsuccessfully in the past. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The author focuses on the child support problems arising from divorce. He notes that a report from the U.S. Census Bureau listed 7.8 million custodial parents, 85% of the seven million mothers included in that number were owed child support. He attributes the increase in the child welfare costs to ineffective enforcement of family law. He also cites the benefits of computer and financial search programs to lawyers in terms of locating child support fugitives.

Background: In June 2006, the first vaccine to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV) transmission was approved for use in females in the United States. Because the vaccine was approved for females as young as 9, its success depends on parents' and individuals' willingness to accept vaccination. Little is known about how attitudes toward this vaccine will be influenced by the way the vaccine is portrayed in the media or in public debate. Methods: To assess the effects of information framing on intentions to vaccinate self or female children, if appropriate, 635 adults read one of three short descriptive paragraphs about the vaccine, each of which emphasized a different aspect of the vaccine. Participants were then asked about their intentions to vaccinate under cost or no-cost conditions. Results: Women who read that the vaccine protects only against cervical cancer had significantly higher intentions to vaccinate themselves when the vaccine was available at little or no cost compared with women who read alternate versions of the descriptive paragraph, F(2,325) = 5.74, p = 0.004. Conclusions: How the HPV vaccine is framed may affect vaccination intentions under certain conditions. Women may be more receptive to the vaccine if it is framed as a cervical cancer prevention tool rather than a sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the history of the twelve-tone serial music in the U.S. from late 1920s to the 2008. It states that the aim of the study is to revise the American twelve-tone music by confronting the myths that have been developed around it. It presents the different phases of serialism in the U.S. Moreover, it also mentions the prominent twelve-tone composers in the U.S. such as Henry Cowell and Ruth Crawford.

The article cites the case of the Delgado family as an example of how divorce affects tax-related issues. It provides a brief background of the family, including its members and their assets. A marital balance sheet for Estella and Jose Delgado, who decided to divorce, before any adjustments is presented. It also explains what the Delgado couple have accomplished for their children under the Kiddie Tax or the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 1.

Members of Congress have conflicting responsibilities between advancing the public's interest while advocating for the private interests of constituents. This research examines the association between political corruption and the increased devotion to constituent casework. It creates a congressional corruption matrix that gives rise to four types of political corruption illuminated through descriptions of the Abscam Scandal, the Duke Cunningham Scandal, the Keating Five Scandal, and the Jack Abramoff Scandal. It makes a distinction between individual and institutional forms of corruption and differentiates between personal gain and career advancing varieties of corruption. This article contends that Congress is disinclined to enact and enforce substantive reforms in career advancing forms of corruption because of a shared institutional value in expanding politically beneficial activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]