Background Of outcomes related to excessive drinking, binge drinking accounts for approximately half of alcohol-attributable deaths, two thirds of years of potential life lost, and three fourths of economic costs. The extent to which the alcohol policy environment accounts for differences in binge drinking in U.S. states is unknown. Purpose The goal of the study was to describe the development of an Alcohol Policy Scale (APS) designed to measure the aggregate state-level alcohol policy environment in the U.S. and assess the relationship of APS scores to state-level adult binge drinking prevalence in U.S. states. Methods Policy efficacy and implementation ratings were developed with assistance from a panel of policy experts. Data on 29 policies in 50 states and Washington DC from 2000–2010 were collected from multiple sources and analyzed between January 2012 and January 2013. Five methods of aggregating policy data to calculate APS scores were explored; all but one was weighted for relative policy efficacy and/or implementation. Adult (aged ≥ 18 years) binge drinking prevalence data from 2001–2010 was obtained from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System surveys. APS scores from a particular state-year were used to predict binge drinking prevalence during the following year. Results All methods of calculating APS scores were significantly correlated (r > 0.50), and all APS scores were significantly inversely associated with adult binge drinking prevalence. Introducing efficacy and implementation ratings optimized goodness of fit in statistical models (e.g., unadjusted beta = −3.90, p < 0.0001, R2 = 0.31). Conclusions The composite measure(s) of the alcohol policy environment have internal and construct validity. Higher APS scores (representing stronger policy environments) were associated with less adult binge drinking and accounted for a substantial proportion of the state-level variation in binge drinking among U.S. states.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between the alcohol policy environment (ie, the combined effectiveness and implementation of multiple existing alcohol policies) and youth drinking in the United States has not been assessed. We hypothesized that stronger alcohol policy environments are inversely associated with youth drinking, and this relationship is partly explained by adult drinking.METHODS: Alcohol Policy Scale (APS) scores that characterized the strength of the state-level alcohol policy environments were assessed with repeated cross-sectional Youth Risk Behavior Survey data of representative samples of high school students in grades 9 to 12, from biennial years between 1999 and 2011. RESULTS:In fully adjusted models, a 10 percentage point increase in APS scores (representing stronger policy environments) was associated with an 8% reduction in the odds of youth drinking and a 7% reduction in the odds of youth binge drinking. After we accounted for youth-oriented alcohol policies, the subgroup of population-oriented policies was independently associated with lower odds of youth drinking (adjusted odds ratio 0.94; 95% confidence interval 0.92-0.97) and youth binge drinking (adjusted odds ratio 0.96; 95% confidence interval 0.94-0.99). State-level per capita consumption mediated the relationship between population-oriented alcohol policies and binge drinking among youth.CONCLUSIONS: Stronger alcohol policies, including those that do not target youth specifically, are related to a reduced likelihood of youth alcohol consumption. These findings suggest that efforts to reduce youth drinking should incorporate population-based policies to reduce excessive drinking among adults as part of a comprehensive approach to preventing alcohol-related harms. Future research should examine influence of alcohol policy subgroups and discrete policies. WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT:Youth drinking is associated with adult drinking. Alcohol policies can influence youth and adult drinking. However, it is unknown whether alcohol policies influence youth drinking patterns directly or through their effect on adult drinking. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS:Alcohol policies, including population-oriented policies, are protective for youth drinking. The effect of population-oriented policies may be mediated though effects on adults. These findings suggest that efforts to reduce youth drinking should rely on policies that address all age groups. Dr Xuan helped design the study, supervised statistical analysis, interpreted data and results, and drafted and revised the manuscript; Mr Blanchette coordinated data collection on alcohol policies, contributed to the development of the Alcohol Policy Scale, conducted statistical analyses, interpreted data and results, and made critical revisions of the manuscript for important intellectual content; Dr Nelson contributed to conception and design of the study, contributed to interpretation of data results, and made critical revisions of the manuscript for important intellectual content; Ms Nguyen collect...

Aims U.S. studies contribute heavily to the literature about the tax elasticity of demand for alcohol, and most U.S. studies have relied upon specific excise (volume-based) taxes for beer as a proxy for alcohol taxes. The purpose of this paper was to compare this conventional alcohol tax measure with more comprehensive tax measures (incorporating multiple tax and beverage types) in analyses of the relationship between alcohol taxes and adult binge drinking prevalence in U.S. states. Design Data on U.S. state excise, ad valorem and sales taxes from 2001 to 2010 were obtained from the Alcohol Policy Information System and other sources. For 510 state-year strata, we developed a series of weighted tax-per-drink measures that incorporated various combinations of tax and beverage types, and related these measures to state-level adult binge drinking prevalence data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System surveys. Findings In analyses pooled across all years, models using the combined tax measure explained approximately 20% of state binge drinking prevalence, and documented more negative tax elasticity (−0.09, P=0.02 versus −0.005, P=0.63) and price elasticity (−1.40, P<0.01 versus −0.76, P=0.15) compared with models using only the volume-based tax. In analyses stratified by year, the R-squares for models using the beer combined tax measure were stable across the study period (P=0.11), while the R-squares for models rely only on volume-based tax declined (P<0.01). Conclusions Compared with volume-based tax measures, combined tax measures (i.e. those incorporating volume-based tax and value-based taxes) yield substantial improvement in model fit and find more negative tax elasticity and price elasticity predicting adult binge drinking prevalence in U.S. states.

A variety of genetic techniques have been devised to determine cell lineage relationships during tissue development. Some of these systems monitor cell lineages spatially and/or temporally without regard to gene expression by the cells, whereas others correlate gene expression with the lineage under study. The GAL4 Technique for Real-time and Clonal Expression (G-TRACE) system allows for rapid, fluorescent protein-based visualization of both current and past GAL4 expression patterns and is therefore amenable to genome-wide expression-based lineage screens. Here we describe the results from such a screen, performed by undergraduate students of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Undergraduate Research Consortium for Functional Genomics (URCFG) and high school summer scholars as part of a discovery-based education program. The results of the screen, which reveal novel expression-based lineage patterns within the brain, the imaginal disc epithelia, and the hematopoietic lymph gland, have been compiled into the G-TRACE Expression Database (GED), an online resource for use by the Drosophila research community. The impact of this discovery-based research experience on student learning gains was assessed independently and shown to be greater than that of similar programs conducted elsewhere. Furthermore, students participating in the URCFG showed considerably higher STEM retention rates than UCLA STEM students that did not participate in the URCFG, as well as STEM students nationwide.

The reaction of 1 equiv of 1-azidoadamantane with [U III (NR 2 ) 3 ] (R = SiMe 3 ) in Et 2 O results in the formation of [U V (NR 2 ) 3 (NAd)] (1, Ad = 1-adamantyl) in good yields. The electronic structure of 1, as well as those of the related U(V) complexes, [U V (NR 2 ) 3 (NSiMe 3 )] (2) and [U V (NR 2 ) 3 (O)] (3), were analyzed with EPR spectroscopy, SQUID magnetometry, NIR−visible spectroscopy, and crystal field modeling. This analysis revealed that, within this series of complexes, the steric bulk of the E 2− (E�O, NR) ligand is the most important factor in determining the electronic structure. In particular, the increasing steric bulk of this ligand, on moving from O 2− to [NAd] 2− , results in increasing U�E distances and E−U−N amide angles. These changes have two principal effects on the resulting electronic structure:(1) the increasing U�E distances decreases the energy of the f σ orbital, which is primarily σ* with respect to the U�E bond, and (2) the increasing E−U−N amide angles increases the energy of f δ , due to increasing antibonding interactions with the amide ligands. As a result of the latter change, the electronic ground state for complexes 1 and 2 is primarily f φ in character, whereas the ground state for complex 3 is primarily f δ .