scholarly journals Correlates of cannabinoid concentrations, real-world driving, and driving-related skills

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark B. Johnson

AbstractResearch on the relationship between cannabis use and safe driving has produced mixed results. Most studies have focused exclusively on the presence or concentration of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive ingredient in the drug. However, cannabis is a complex substance, and both toxicological research and user experience suggests that some cannabis strains—often those with at least moderate levels of cannabidiol (CBD)— produce a different, more sedating “high” than cannabis strains with no or low levels of CBD. We hypothesize that the sedating properties of some high-CBD cannabis strains has potential to impair driving and driving-related skills above and beyond the effects of THC intoxication. Three studies—one instrumented vehicle driving study and two laboratory-style epidemiological studies—examined real driving and computerized task performance as a function THC and CBD concentrations (and their interactions). In all three studies, higher CBD levels predicted greater impairment. There was relatively little evidence of impairment when CBD was zero, even at high THC levels. The results suggest that THC concentrations alone are not sufficient to predict impairment due to cannabis use. Results are interpreted in the context of drug tolerance.

2003 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria José Sotelo ◽  
Luis Gimeno

The authors explore an alternative way of analyzing the relationship between human development and individualism. The method is based on the first principal component of Hofstede's individualism index in the Human Development Index rating domain. Results suggest that the general idea that greater wealth brings more individualism is only true for countries with high levels of development, while for middle or low levels of development the inverse is true.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-37
Author(s):  
Andreea Gheorghe ◽  
Oana Fodor ◽  
Anișoara Pavelea

This study explores the association between task conflict and team creativity and the role of group cognitive complexity (GCC) as a potential explanatory mechanism in a sample of 159 students organized in 49 groups. Moreover, we analyzed the moderating effect of collective emotional intelligence (CEI)in the relationship between task conflict and GCC.As hypothesized, we found that task conflict has a nonlinear relationship with GCC, but contrary to our expectations, it follows a U-shaped association, not an inversed U-shape. In addition,the moderating role of CEI was significant only at low levels. Contrary to our expectation, the mediating role of GCC did not receive empirical support. Theoretical and practical contributions are discussed.


2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaotong Ji ◽  
Yingying Zhang ◽  
Guangke Li ◽  
Nan Sang

Recently, numerous studies have found that particulate matter (PM) exposure is correlated with increased hospitalization and mortality from heart failure (HF). In addition to problems with circulation, HF patients often display high expression of cytokines in the failing heart. Thus, as a recurring heart problem, HF is thought to be a disorder characterized in part by the inflammatory response. In this review, we intend to discuss the relationship between PM exposure and HF that is based on inflammatory mechanism and to provide a comprehensive, updated evaluation of the related studies. Epidemiological studies on PM-induced heart diseases are focused on high concentrations of PM, high pollutant load exposure in winter, or susceptible groups with heart diseases, etc. Furthermore, it appears that the relationship between fine or ultrafine PM and HF is stronger than that between HF and coarse PM. However, fewer studies paid attention to PM components. As for experimental studies, it is worth noting that coarse PM may indirectly promote the inflammatory response in the heart through systematic circulation of cytokines produced primarily in the lungs, while ultrafine PM and its components can enter circulation and further induce inflammation directly in the heart. In terms of PM exposure and enhanced inflammation during the pathogenesis of HF, this article reviews the following mechanisms: hemodynamics, oxidative stress, Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and epigenetic regulation. However, many problems are still unsolved, and future work will be needed to clarify the complex biologic mechanisms and to identify the specific components of PM responsible for adverse effects on heart health.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
He Ding ◽  
Enhai Yu ◽  
Yanbin Li

We investigated the mediating effects of positive affect and strengths use in the relationship between perceived organizational support for strengths use (POSSU) and employees' task performance. Data were gathered at 2 time points, separated by a 2-week interval, from 157 employees working in various Chinese enterprises. We applied structural equation modeling and PROCESS macro analysis to the data. The results indicate that POSSU was positively related to task performance and that this relationship was mediated by strengths use. In addition, positive affect and strengths use played a sequential mediating role in the relationship between POSSU and task performance. However, positive affect was not a significant mediator in the POSSU–task performance relationship. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed in the context of the literature on POSSU and task performance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (10) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xieping Chen ◽  
Qian Xie ◽  
Yuting Yang

Parent–adolescent communication is assumed to be an important factor affecting adolescent smoking behavior. However, the inner mechanism accounting for this association has still not been clarified in research. Our purpose in this study was to examine the relationships between parent–adolescent communication, adolescent smoking behavior, and depression, as well as gender differences in the relationship between depression and adolescent smoking behavior. Participants were 1,134 students at 6 junior high schools in China who completed the Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale, the Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, and the Smoking Behavior Test. Results showed that parent-adolescent communication had a significant negative effect on adolescent smoking behavior and depression partially mediated the relationship between parent–adolescent communication and adolescent smoking behavior. In addition, gender moderated the relationship between depression and adolescent smoking behavior. Overall, these findings may help to promote better understanding of the relationship between parent–adolescent communication and adolescent smoking behavior.


Author(s):  
Lawrence P. Markowitz ◽  
Mariya Y. Omelicheva

This chapter examines low levels of terrorist violence in Muslim-majority societies. Studies of terrorism have tended to view the relationship between religion and violence through the narrow lens of security, thereby overpredicting the extent of terrorist violence across societies. After reviewing the various explanations for terrorist violence, and applying them to Central Asia, this chapter explores the conditions under which a state’s involvement in illicit economies—specifically its collusion in the drug trade—can dampen levels of terrorist violence. Combining quantitative analysis (including GIS-enabled tools) with a series of in-depth expert interviews conducted in Central Asia, it emphasizes the complex political economy of security that defines infrastructurally weak states, where political and security apparatuses are often immersed in informal and illicit economies. This approach helps uncover the complex links between religion and organized violence, where state apparatuses are often drawn into collaborative relationships with nonstate actors.


2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 630-645 ◽  
Author(s):  
Won Ho Kim ◽  
Young-An Ra ◽  
Jong Gyu Park ◽  
Bora Kwon

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of burnout (i.e. exhaustion, cynicism, professional inefficacy) in the relationship between job level and job satisfaction as well as between job level and task performance. Design/methodology/approach The final sample included 342 Korean workers from selected companies. The authors employed the Hayes (2013) PROCESS tool for analyzing the data. Findings The results showed that all three subscales of burnout (i.e. exhaustion, cynicism, professional inefficacy) mediate the relationship between job level and job satisfaction. However, only two mediators (i.e. cynicism, professional inefficacy) indicated the mediating effects on the association between job level and task performance. Originality/value This research presented the role of burnout on the relationships between job level, job satisfaction, and task performance especially in South Korean organizational context. In addition to role of burnout, findings should prove helpful in improving job satisfaction and task performance. The authors provide implications and limitations of the findings.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (15) ◽  
pp. 4997
Author(s):  
Victor C. Le ◽  
Monica L. H. Jones ◽  
Kathleen H. Sienko

Postural sway has been demonstrated to increase following exposure to different types of motion. However, limited prior studies have investigated the relationship between exposure to normative on-road driving conditions and standing balance following the exposure. The purpose of this on-road study was to quantify the effect of vehicle motion and task performance on passengers’ post-drive standing balance performance. In this study, trunk-based kinematic data were captured while participants performed a series of balance exercises before and after an on-road driving session in real-time traffic. Postural sway for all balance exercises increased following the driving session. Performing a series of ecologically relevant visual-based tasks led to increases in most post-drive balance metrics such as sway position and velocity. However, the post-drive changes following the driving session with a task were not significantly different compared to changes observed following the driving session without a task. The post-drive standing balance performance changes observed in this study may increase vulnerable users’ risk of falling. Wearable sensors offer an opportunity to monitor postural sway following in-vehicle exposures.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 448
Author(s):  
Federica Piani ◽  
Arrigo F. G. Cicero ◽  
Claudio Borghi

The relationship between serum uric acid (SUA) and hypertension has been a subject of increasing interest since the 1870 discovery by Frederick Akbar Mahomed. Several epidemiological studies have shown a strong association between high SUA levels and the presence or the development of hypertension. Genetic analyses have found that xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) genetic polymorphisms are associated with hypertension. However, genetic studies on urate transporters and Mendelian randomization studies failed to demonstrate a causal relationship between SUA and hypertension. Results from clinical trials on the role of urate-lowering therapy in the management of patients with hypertension are not uniform. Our study sought to analyze the prognostic and therapeutic role of SUA in the hypertensive disease, from uric acid (UA) biology to clinical trials on urate-lowering therapies.


Author(s):  
Richard Culliford ◽  
Alex J. Cornish ◽  
Philip J. Law ◽  
Susan M. Farrington ◽  
Kimmo Palin ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Epidemiological studies of the relationship between gallstone disease and circulating levels of bilirubin with risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC) have been inconsistent. To address possible confounding and reverse causation, we examine the relationship between these potential risk factors and CRC using Mendelian randomisation (MR). Methods We used two-sample MR to examine the relationship between genetic liability to gallstone disease and circulating levels of bilirubin with CRC in 26,397 patients and 41,481 controls. We calculated the odds ratio per genetically predicted SD unit increase in log bilirubin levels (ORSD) for CRC and tested for a non-zero causal effect of gallstones on CRC. Sensitivity analysis was applied to identify violations of estimator assumptions. Results No association between either gallstone disease (P value = 0.60) or circulating levels of bilirubin (ORSD = 1.00, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.96–1.03, P value = 0.90) with CRC was shown. Conclusions Despite the large scale of this study, we found no evidence for a causal relationship between either circulating levels of bilirubin or gallstone disease with risk of developing CRC. While the magnitude of effect suggested by some observational studies can confidently be excluded, we cannot exclude the possibility of smaller effect sizes and non-linear relationships.


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