Molecular Genetic Influences on Normative and Problematic Alcohol Use in a Population-Based Sample of College Students

Background: Genetic factors impact alcohol use behaviors and these factors may become increasingly evident during emerging adulthood. Examination of the effects of individual variants as well as aggregate genetic variation can clarify mechanisms underlying risk. Methods: We conducted genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in an ethnically diverse sample of college students for three quantitative outcomes including typical monthly alcohol consumption, alcohol problems, and maximum number of drinks in 24 h. Heritability based on common genetic variants (h2SNP) was assessed. We also evaluated whether risk variants in aggregate were associated with alcohol use outcomes in an independent sample of young adults. Results: Two genome-wide significant markers were observed: rs11201929 in GRID1 for maximum drinks in 24 h, with supportive evidence across all ancestry groups; and rs73317305 in SAMD12 (alcohol problems), tested only in the African ancestry group. The h2SNP estimate was 0.19 (SE = 0.11) for consumption, and was non-significant for other outcomes. Genome-wide polygenic scores were significantly associated with alcohol outcomes in an independent sample. Conclusions: These results robustly identify genetic risk for alcohol use outcomes at the variant level and in aggregate. We confirm prior evidence that genetic variation in GRID1impacts alcohol use, and identify novel loci of interest for multiple alcohol outcomes in emerging adults. These findings indicate that genetic variation influencing normative and problematic alcohol use is, to some extent, convergent across ancestry groups. Studying college populations represents a promising avenue by which to obtain large, diverse samples for gene identification

A Descriptive Investigation of Teacher Training and Teacher Mobility in Twenty Omaha, Nebraska Public Elementary Schools

Anticipating and assessing the needs for qualified teachers to teach in large city schools is of major concern to public school administrators across the United States. Securing trained teachers for the hard core Inner City public school poses an even greater challenge and additional problem for the public school personnel director

DISTMIX: direct imputation of summary statistics for unmeasured SNPs from mixed ethnicity cohorts

Motivation: To increase the signal resolution for large-scale meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies, genotypes at unmeasured single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are commonly imputed using large multi-ethnic reference panels. However, the ever increasing size and ethnic diversity of both reference panels and cohorts makes genotype imputation computationally challenging for moderately sized computer clusters. Moreover, genotype imputation requires subject-level genetic data, which unlike summary statistics provided by virtually all studies, is not publicly available. While there are much less demanding methods which avoid the genotype imputation step by directly imputing SNP statistics, e.g. Directly Imputing summary STatistics (DIST) proposed by our group, their implicit assumptions make them applicable only to ethnically homogeneous cohorts. Results: To decrease computational and access requirements for the analysis of cosmopolitan cohorts, we propose DISTMIX, which extends DIST capabilities to the analysis of mixed ethnicity cohorts. The method uses a relevant reference panel to directly impute unmeasured SNP statistics based only on statistics at measured SNPs and estimated/user-specified ethnic proportions. Simulations show that the proposed method adequately controls the Type I error rates. The 1000 Genomes panel imputation of summary statistics from the ethnically diverse Psychiatric Genetic Consortium Schizophrenia Phase 2 suggests that, when compared to genotype imputation methods, DISTMIX offers comparable imputation accuracy for only a fraction of computational resources

A study of the guidance services rendered business education students in the state of Virginia.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Peer Perceptions of Students without Learning Disabilities toward Students with disabilities and a Self Perceptions of Students with Learning Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of the nondisabled students toward students with learning disabilities and the self perceptions of learning disabled students. A survey research design was used for this study. Subjects were students in grades 6-8 with and without disabilities from a rural area in Virginia. The participants who were chosen were general and special education students at the middle school level. The results from this study showed on most issues the two groups agreed, on such topics as friendship, social gathering, and favoritism. Findings indicated students without disabilities are accepting students with disabilities within the school and other social gatherings

A proposed palladium-catalyzed cycle for the epoxidation of alkenes

Epoxides are an important chemical functional group, used in a wide variety of processes, from the small-scale production of pharmaceuticals to the large-scale production of propylene oxide. Current methods for production of epoxides require costly multi-step syntheses that use toxic or explosive reagents, result in low yields, and produce co-products that must be removed and often disposed. The development of an atom-efficient general method, preferably catalytic, for converting alkenes to epoxides using safe, cheap, and readily available molecular oxygen as the stoichiometric oxidant would be a great advance in both industrial and academic chemistry. Presented here is a proposed catalytic cycle in which molecular oxygen is used as the stoichiometric oxidant for the epoxidation of alkenes. The cycle begins with a palladium hydride bearing a tridentate ligand. Molecular oxygen adds to the palladium hydride, forming a palladium hydroperoxide that will act as the active oxidant in the catalytic cycle. This palladium hydroperoxide then transfers one oxygen atom to an alkene, producing palladium hydroxide and the desired epoxide. Finally, the palladium hydride is regenerated from palladium hydroxide by addition of hydrogen gas and elimination of water. Each individual step of this proposed catalytic cycle was studied computationally using density functional theory calculations. Specifically, the palladium-hydrogen bond dipole and the palladium-hydrogen bond length were examined in relation to formation of the palladium hydroperoxide; the effect of the electrophilicity of the alkene on the epoxidation was studied; and the relationship between the characteristics of the tridentate ligand and the mechanism of palladium-hydride regeneration were examined. Computational results and suggested direction for future experimental focus are presented

Toward a measure of the group-oriented lifestyle : a cross-cultural study

Attitudes and life-styles of collectivist and individualistic societies have been studied. There is a need however, to assess the degree to which societies are collectivist or individualistic. The purpose of this study is to begin addressing this deficit by refining the Individual-Group Measure (IGM) and to compare the expectations about counseling of Americans and Bahamians. A 52 item, self­ report instrument, the IGM was developed to measure attitudes of group-oriented societies. One hundred and twenty-six Americans and 126 Bahamians participated in the study. A factor analysis conducted on the IGM yielded six factors: Socialization and Limit-Setting, Responsibility for Self, Relationships at Work and School, Group Support, Moral Duty to Others, and Obligation to Family. Pearson correlations and Cronbach Alphas were calculated in order to obtain test-retest reliability estimates. A MANOVA and a Pearson correlation were conducted on the IGM (Family, Community, School, and Work) and four Expectations About Counseling-Brief scales (Empathy, Nurturance, Directiveness, and Concreteness). Results suggest that Bahamians are more group-oriented than Americans. Bahamians showed a greater need than Americans for directiveness and empathy in counseling, and a greater obligation to Community and Family life. Americans revealed greater obligation to work than Bahamians. Inter-correlations among the eight scales yielded significant and direct correlations

Education in the Marshall Islands under United Nations Trusteeship Administered by the United States

The lack of a handbook in the schools of the Marshalls District has resulted in valuable information and history being lost in each successive turnover of personnel in the Trust Territory. Every year brings a group of new recruits into the educational system. This particular handbook contains valuable information on the past history and specific terminology required of one who will teach in this area. Special emphasis was given to the educational system in the Marshall Islands

Nutritional Status Assessment During the Phase IIA and Phase III Lunar/Mars Life Support Test Project

Nutrition is a critical concern for extended-duration space missions (Smith and Lane, 1999). Loss of body weight is a primary consequence of altered nutrition, and is frequently observed during space flight (Smith and Lane; 1999). Other existing dietary concerns for space flight include excessive intakes of sodium and iron, and insufficient intakes of water and vitamin D (Smith and Lane, 1999). Furthermore, dependence on closed or semi-closed food systems increases the likelihood of inadequate intakes of key nutrients. This is a significant concern for extended-duration space missions. Space nutrition research often necessitates detailed recording of all food consumption. While this yields extremely accurate data, it requires considerable time and effort, and thus is not suitable for routine medical monitoring during space flight. To alleviate this problem, a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was designed to provide a quick and easy, yet reasonably accurate, method for crewmembers to provide dietary intake information to the ground. We report here a study which was designed to assess nutritional status before, during, and after the 60-d and 91-d chamber stays. An additional goal of the study was to validate a food frequency questionnaire designed specifically for use with space flight food systems