Effects of Dram Shop,Responsible Beverage Service Training,and State Alcohol Control Laws on Underage Drinking Driver Fatal Crash Ratios

Objectives: In this study, we aimed to determine whether three minimum legal drinking age 21 (MLDA-21) laws—dram shop liability, responsible beverage service (RBS) training, and state control of alcohol sales—have had an impact on underage drinking and driving fatal crashes using annual state-level data, and compared states with strong laws to those with weak laws to examine their effect on beer consumption and fatal crash ratios.

Methods: Using the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, we calculated the ratio of drinking to nondrinking drivers under age 21 involved in fatal crashes as our key outcome measure. We used structural equation modeling to evaluate the three MLDA-21 laws. We controlled for covariates known to impact fatal crashes including: 17 additional MLDA-21 laws; administrative license revocation; blood alcohol concentration limits of.08 and.10 for driving; seat belt laws; sobriety checkpoint frequency; unemployment rates; and vehicle miles traveled. Outcome variables, in addition to the fatal crash ratios of drinking to nondrinking drivers under age 21 included state per capita beer consumption.

Results: Dram shop liability laws were associated with a 2.4% total effect decrease (direct effects: β =.019, p =.018). Similarly, RBS training laws were associated with a 3.6% total effect decrease (direct effect: β =.048, p =.001) in the ratio of drinking to nondrinking drivers under age 21 involved in fatal crashes. There was a significant relationship between dram shop liability law strength and per capita beer consumption, F (4, 1528) = 24.32, p <.001, partial η² =.016, showing states with strong dram shop liability laws (Mean (M) = 1.276) averaging significantly lower per capita beer consumption than states with weak laws (M = 1.340).

Conclusions: Dram shop liability laws and RBS laws were both associated with significantly reduced per capita beer consumption and fatal crash ratios. In practical terms, this means that dram shop liability laws are currently associated with saving an estimated 64 lives in the 45 jurisdictions that currently have the law. If the remaining 6 states adopted the dram shop law, an additional 9 lives could potentially be saved annually. Similarly, RBS training laws are associated with saving an estimated 83 lives in the 37 jurisdictions that currently have the laws. If the remaining 14 states adopted these RBS training laws, we estimate that an additional 28 lives could potentially be saved.     

Sometimes less is more: Directed coping with interpersonal stressors at work

Within the coping literature, researchers have long been interested in identifying ways in which individuals can improve their coping efforts, making them more effective and thereby reducing the harmful effects of stressful encounters. Although Lazarus and Folkman's transactional model has greatly advanced understanding of the coping process, there continues to be methodological and conceptual challenges that have hindered understanding of the mechanisms behind effective coping. Addressing these issues in the use of a novel approach of analyzing variation in coping (i.e., directed coping) at both the coping event and person coping levels, the current study examined the process of coping with work stress and the beneficial coping outcomes associated with using a directed coping strategy. A total of 143 nurses completed up to 12 weekly surveys online, reporting on weekly stressful interpersonal conflicts and how they coped with them. Results from multilevel analyses supported predictions that greater directed coping at both the level of the coping event and person is associated with improvements in occupational health outcomes even after controlling for other coping factors. Implications of these results are discussed in relation to future research on coping effectiveness and workplace applications. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

First record of plicidentine in Synapsida and patterns of tooth root shape change in Early Permian sphenacodontians

Recent histological studies have revealed a diversity of dental features in Permo-Carboniferous tetrapods. Here, we report on the occurrence of plicidentine (infolded dentine around the base of the tooth root) in Sphenacodontia, the first such documentation in Synapsida, the clade that includes mammals. Five taxa were examined histologically, Ianthodon schultzei, Sphenacodon ferocior, Dimetrodon limbatus, Dimetrodon grandis, and Secodontosaurus obtusidens. The tooth roots of Ianthodon possess multiple folds, which is generally viewed as the primitive condition for amniotes. Sphenacodon and D. limbatus have distinctive “four-leaf clover”-shaped roots in cross section, whereas Secodontosaurus has an elongate square shape with only subtle folding. The most derived and largest taxon examined in this study, D. grandis, has rounded roots in cross section and therefore no plicidentine. This pattern of a loss of plicidentine in sphenacodontids supports previous functional hypotheses of plicidentine, where teeth with shallow roots require folds to increase the area of attachment to the tooth-bearing element, whereas teeth with long roots do not. This pattern may also reflect differences in diet between co-occurring sphenacodontids as well as changes in feeding niche through time, specifically in the apex predator Dimetrodon.     

The effect of landfill leachate composition on organics and nitrogen removal in an activated sludge system with bentonite additive

A pre-denitrification activated sludge system (AS) without internal recycle was used in lab-scale studies of landfill leachate treatment. A bentonite supplement at a ratio of 1:4 (mineral : biomass) was used to ensure high sludge settling levels and to serve as a micro-organisms carrier. The system was operated within different parameters such as hydraulic retention time (HRT), ammonia loading rate (ALR) or external recycle ratio, which was adapted to treat varying leachate concentrations of COD and ammonia, ranging from 1020 to 2680 mgO(2)l(-1) and 400-890 mgNH(4)-Nl(-1) respectively. The nitrification was complete and ammonia oxidation reached 99%; this was obtained while the ALR did not exceed 0.09 g NH(4)(+)-Ng(-1)MLVSS d(-1) and HRT was not lower than 1 day (in the aeration reactor). The performance of denitrification was successfully improved by controlling the external recycle rate, when the BOD(5)/N ratio in the raw leachate was 4.1. Consequently, N-removal of up to 80% was achieved. A 10-fold decrease in the denitrification rate was obtained at a BOD(5)/N ratio of 0.5. The efficiency of COD removal varied significantly from 36% to 84%. The positive effect of bentonite addition was determined and is discussed based on preliminary studies. The experiments were carried out in fill-and-draw activated sludge with bentonite; the biomass ratio was 1:2. The activated sludge with bentonite was fed with a synthetic high ammonia and organic-free medium.     

Integrated Measures of Anthropogenic Stress in the U.S. Great Lakes Basin

Integrated, quantitative expressions of anthropogenic stress over large geographic regions can be valuable tools in environmental research and management. Despite the fundamental appeal of a regional approach, development of regional stress measures remains one of the most important current challenges in environmental science. Using publicly available, pre-existing spatial datasets, we developed a geographic information system database of 86 variables related to five classes of anthropogenic stress in the U.S. Great Lakes basin: agriculture, atmospheric deposition, human population, land cover, and point source pollution. The original variables were quantified by a variety of data types over a broad range of spatial and classification resolutions. We summarized the original data for 762 watershed-based units that comprise the U.S. portion of the basin and then used principal components analysis to develop overall stress measures within each stress category. We developed a cumulative stress index by combining the first principal component from each of the five stress categories. Maps of the stress measures illustrate strong spatial patterns across the basin, with the greatest amount of stress occurring on the western shore of Lake Michigan, southwest Lake Erie, and southeastern Lake Ontario. We found strong relationships between the stress measures and characteristics of bird communities, fish communities, and water chemistry measurements from the coastal region. The stress measures are taken to represent the major threats to coastal ecosystems in the U.S. Great Lakes. Such regional-scale efforts are critical for understanding relationships between human disturbance and ecosystem response, and can be used to guide environmental decision-making at both regional and local scales.     

Reduced surface runoff losses of metolachlor in narrow-row compared to wide-row soybean

Cultural management practices that reduce the off-site transport of herbicides applied to row crops are needed to protect surface water quality. A soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] field study was conducted near Stoneville, MS on Sharkey clay to evaluate row spacing (50 cm vs. 100 cm) effects on metolachlor [2-chloro-N-(2-ethyl-6-methylphenyl)-N-(methoxy-1-methylethyl) acetamide] transport. One day after the foliar application of metolachlor to 2.03 m wide by 2.43 m long plots, 60 mm h(-1) of simulated rainfall was applied until 25 min of runoff was generated per plot. The calculated mass of metolachlor intercepted by the soybean foliage was greater in narrow-row than wide-row soybean, 0.39 kg ha(-1) vs. 0.23 kg ha(-1), respectively. Field and laboratory studies indicated that less than 2% of the metolachlor intercepted by the soybean foliage was available for foliar wash-off 1 d after application. Antecedent soil water content at the start of the simulations was lower in narrow-row soybean. In turn, there was a 1.7-fold greater time to runoff on narrow-row plots. The greater time to runoff likely contributed to lower metolachlor concentration in runoff from narrow-row plots. Cumulative metolachlor losses were significantly greater in wide-row than narrow-row soybean, 3.7% vs. 2.2%, respectively. Findings indicate that narrow-row planting systems may reduce metolachlor runoff following a post-emergence application.     

Phosphorus losses through agricultural tile drainage in Nova Scotia, Canada

Tile drainage water from agricultural fields commonly exceeds environmental guidelines for phosphorus (P) in rivers and streams. The loss of P through artificial drainage is spatially and temporally variable, and is related to local factors. This study characterizes variability in total P (TP) and soluble reactive P (SRP) concentrations in weekly drainage samples from 39 agricultural fields in Nova Scotia, Canada, from April 2002 through December 2003. We examined connections between P concentrations and the factors: (i) soil texture; (ii) discharge flow rate; (iii) soil test P (STP); (iv) manure type; and (v) crop cover. Generally, variability between fields and samples was great, and fields with standard deviations exceeding the mean for TP, SRP, and flow rate were 71, 54, and 79%, respectively. It was evident that poultry and swine manure contributed to high STPs, and to constantly high TP concentrations with high proportions of SRP. Concentrations varied from week to week, and particularly in April, May, October, and November when the greatest TP, SRP, and flow rate averages were measured. Mean TP concentrations exceed the USEPA (1994) TP guideline of 0.10 mg L(-1) at 82% of the fields, and periodically concentrations more than 10 times, and occasionally more than 50 times higher than the guideline were found. The proportion of SRP in TP had a tendency to be higher when TP levels were high in coarse textured soils. In Nova Scotia, dairy manure is most often applied on permanent cover crops, which did not show as much P concentration variability as crop rotations. Daily or hourly observation of short-term increases in P concentrations related to the described factors would help to characterize the changes in P concentrations observed during frequent heavy drainage flow events.