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Marijuana Use Continues to Rise Among U.S. Teens, While Alcohol Use Hits Historic Lows

By Guest PostDecember 16, 20112 commentsGeneral, Healthadderall, alcohol, amphetamine, anabolic steroid, cocaine powder, cold medicines, cough, crack cocaine, ecstasy, energy drinks, inhalants, k2, lloyd johnston, marijuana, mdma, medical use, monster, narcotic drug, red bull, reload, sedative, sedatives, spice, stimulant drug, synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic marijuana, teens, tranquilizers, university of michigan, us secondary school students, use of marijuana, vicodin

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Among the more important findings from this year’s Monitoring the Future survey of U.S. secondary school students are the following:

Marijuana use among teens rose in 2011 for the fourth straight year—a sharp contrast to the considerable decline that had occurred in the preceding decade. Daily marijuana use is now at a 30-year peak level among high school seniors.
“Synthetic marijuana,” which until earlier this year was legally sold and goes by such names as “K2” and “spice,” was added to the study’s coverage in 2011; one in every nine high school seniors (11.4%) reported using that drug in the prior 12 months.
Alcohol use—and, importantly, occasions of heavy drinking—continued a long-term gradual decline among teens, reaching historically low levels in 2011.
Energy drinks are being consumed by about one third of teens, with use highest among younger teens. (more…)

Presidential Cuisine a Focus of Archaeology at Montpelier

By Guest PostDecember 15, 2011Culture, Generalambrose madison, american president, animal remains, arizona state museum, barnet pavao zuckerman, blue ridge mountains, bones, dining table, dolley madison, excavations at montpelier, james and dolley madison, james madison jr, james madison sr, kitchen, marybeth harte, mount pleasant, northern virginia, picture of montpelier, pre revolutionary war era, republic, slaves trash, zooarchaeologist

Arizona State Museum zooarchaeologist Barnet Pavao-Zuckerman and her students are analyzing the remains of an early American president’s dining table.

Arizona State Museum archaeologists are looking through historic table scraps in an effort to find out more about the kitchen of America’s fourth president and author of the U.S. Constitution.

For about a decade, Barnet Pavao-Zuckerman and her students from the University of Arizona have been part of ongoing excavations at Montpelier, the home of James and Dolley Madison. The archaeology of Montpelier’s grounds offer some light on what day-to-day life was like from the pre-Revolutionary War era to well into the 18th century. (more…)

At Kartemquin Film Screening, ‘Interrupters’ Speak About Stopping Violence

By Guest PostDecember 14, 2011Culture, Generalalex kotlowitz, ceasefire, Chicago, conflict resolution, documentary, footsteps, gangs, gary slutkin, graduations, kartemquin films, prison, ricardo cobe williams, troubled past, uchicago t shirts, ulysses floyd, violence, violence interrupter, violent crimes, woodlawn

Ricardo “Cobe” Williams isn’t shy about admitting his troubled past.

“For most of my life, I was part of the problem,” Williams told a group of students in the Master of Arts Program in the Humanities (MAPH) last month.

But Williams, who spent a combined 13-and- a-half years in prison, has dedicated his life to preventing others from following in his footsteps. (more…)

Chinese Health Coverage Improves With Government Efforts

By Guest PostDecember 11, 2011Economy, Generalbrown university, China, chinese government, chinese provinces, government interventions, health care, health care coverage, health care in china, health insurance, hongwei xu, policy interventions, population, rates, reimbursement rates, rural areas, rural chinese, susan e short, university of michigan, villages

*A new study of health insurance in nine Chinese provinces shows that individual coverage surged within a two-year time frame, from 2004-2006, coinciding with new government interventions designed to improve access to health care. The changes were most dramatic in rural areas.*

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Health care coverage increased dramatically in parts of China between 1997 and 2006, a period when government interventions were implemented to improve access to health care, with particularly striking upswings in rural areas, according to new research by Brown University sociologist Susan E. Short and Hongwei Xu of the University of Michigan. The findings appear in the December issue of Health Affairs.

Led by Xu, a former Brown graduate student, the study analyzed data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey, which follows households in nine provinces that are home to more than 40 percent of China’s population. Xu and Short specifically focused on patterns of coverage among rural and urban residents. (more…)

Growing U.S. Violent Extremism – Facts on the Ground: UMD Database

By Guest PostDecember 11, 2011General, Politicsal qaida, anti abortion extremists, aqap, arabian peninsula, attacks, blueprint, community resilience, earth liberation front, elf, environmental extremists, financial schemes, foiled terrorist plots, ft hood, gary lafree, global war on terrorism, homegrown terrorists, islamist extremists, janet napolitano, lone wolf, North America, plots, political spectrum, radicalization, start, statistics, tehrik i taliban pakistan, terrorism database, terrorist attacks, texas, ttp, united states, university of maryland, violent extremism, White House, white supremacists, work of extremists

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Over the past decade, attacks and plots by homegrown terrorists in the United States have increased, the work of extremists from across the political spectrum – roughly 40 percent of it by so-called ‘lone wolf,’ non-aligned actors – says an analysis by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) based at the University of Maryland.

The statistics underscore the threat addressed in a White House plan released Thursday: Strategic Implementation Plan for Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States – a blueprint for “building community resilience against violent extremism.” (more…)

Is an End to AIDS-related Deaths Possible?

By Guest PostDecember 2, 2011General, Mediaafrica, african descendants, aids related death, canada, fight against hiv, gay, ghana, hiv, kappa, laron nelson, msm, sex with men, sexually transmissible infections, viral loads, world aids day

U of T assistant professor of nursing LaRon Nelson weighs in

World AIDS Day is held on Dec. 1 each year. It’s an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV, commemorate people who have died and celebrate victories such as increased access to treatment and prevention services. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day. Held for the first time in 1988, it’s become one of the most recognized international health holidays. The day is also a chance for public and private partners to spread awareness about the status of the pandemic and encourage progress in HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care in high prevalence countries and around the world. (more…)

Minorities Pay More for Water and Sewer

By Guest PostNovember 29, 2011Culture, Environment, Generalbirmingham, bygone economic era, cleveland, detroit, environmental practice, michigan state university, pittsburgh, poster child, product of racism, rachel butts, racial minorities, sewer infrastructure, shrinking cities, st. louis, stephen gasteyer, structural inequality, wastewater, water and sewer

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Racial minorities pay systemically more for basic water and sewer services than white people, according to a study by Michigan State University researchers.

This “structural inequality” is not necessarily a product of racism, argues sociologist Stephen Gasteyer, but rather the result of whites fleeing urban areas and leaving minority residents to bear the costs of maintaining aging water and sewer infrastructure. (more…)

Laborers of Love

By Guest PostNovember 26, 2011General, Natureancient corinth, ancient human skeleton, apostle paul, archaeologist, archaeology lab, artemis, bank of the mississippi, birds of prey, bob kriel, bremer village, bubo, county roscommon, czech republic, deane morrison, excavations, gillian monnier, Greece, horned owl, ireland, john soderberg, keith manthie, minnesota, neanderthal site, peregrine falcon, raptor center, roman cemetery, sue mccarthy, university of minnesota, young owls

*Three volunteers who make a difference*

A murmur runs through the audience as Bob Kriel withdraws his gloved hand from a darkened cage in the front of a small lecture room.

On the glove sits Bubo, a great horned owl. With his piercing eyes and imperial demeanor, this large bird with mottled gray feathers instantly dominates the room.

Kriel, a retired physician who still does clinical research at the University of Minnesota, volunteers weekly at the U’s Raptor Center, where sick and injured birds of prey receive treatment. (more…)

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