Street children: who are they? Why are they homeless? How do they actually live on the streets? What quality of life do they enjoy? What are the characteristics of these children? These questions appear to be simple, but the answers are so very complex. Very often the public lacks proper information about these children and they instinctively…

This article describes the work being undertaken to make more use of supercritical carbon dioxide as a green solvent. It discusses how the use of surfactants can address the limitations of supercritical CO[subscript 2] in dissolving solutes that are polar and of higher molecular weight. The design of appropriate hydrocarbon CO[subscript 2]-philic…

Although abuse of several unusual inhalants had been documented, addiction to cow dung fumes or their ashes has not been reported in medical literature as yet. We are reporting a case of cow dung dependence in ingestion and inhalational form.

Inhalant and prescription medication abuse, particularly among adolescents, are serious problems in our society. Several risk factors associated with inhalant and medication abuse among adolescents have been identified. As a result, adolescents may suffer multiple consequences in a range of developmental areas. The purpose of this article is to…

The use of proton NMR to determine the equilibrium position of tautomeric 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds in various solvents has been a classic physical chemistry experiment. We are presenting an expansion of the excellent description of this experiment by Garland, Shoemaker, and Nibler. Often the assumption is made that the keto tautomer is always the…

The Student Substance Use and Safety Survey, administered annually to a random, representative sample of AISD students, provides self-report data on student knowledge, attitudes, and behavior related to substance use and school safety issues. This report summarizes district results for Spring 2013.

The article discusses a research instrument developed and utilized by the Pittsburgh Girls Study that asked young girls (ages 7 and 8) and their caretakers to report on the girls' involvement in a variety of problem behaviors. In this article, the authors evaluate whether comprehension, prevalence, and caretaker-child concordance of problem…

Adolescence is an important period of physical, social, psychological, and cognitive growth. No longer children and not yet adults, adolescents make significant choices about their health and develop attitudes and health behaviors that continue into adulthood. Substance use disorders among adolescents can impede the attainment of important…

This article describes an activity that can be performed with an inexpensive plastic toy popper. The activity builds skill at analysing motion and results in the calculation of a surprisingly extreme acceleration. (Contains 1 figure.)

A form of substance abuse occurs when youngsters sniff the ingredients in consumer and household products to become high. The article describes the average sniffer, what is sniffed, the extent of the problem, and suggestions for prevention. (MT)

This article questions whether inhalants should continue to be excluded from school-based drug education curricula in Australia. It argues that rationales provided for such a policy in Victoria are, in the main, not supported by recent research. The Australian evidence-base about drug education makes it difficult to predict the outcomes of…

This report presents the prevalence of inhalant use among young adolescents aged 12 or 13, the association between inhalant use and delinquent behaviors within this age group, and the association between early onset of inhalant use and problems later in life. Early onset of substance use has been linked to substance use disorders, delinquent…

Males are more likely to use, abuse, and be dependent on alcohol or illicit drugs than females. The 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) asked questions of persons aged 12 or older to assess their use of alcohol and illicit drugs, as well as their symptoms of substance dependence or abuse during the past year. NSDUH defines "any…

"SAMHSA News" is the national newsletter of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Published six times a year (bimonthly) by SAMHSA's Office of Communications, SAMHSA News contains information about the latest substance abuse and mental health treatment and prevention practices, recent statistics on mental health and…

This project is part of a multi-year program to gather detailed information about substance-use patterns among Texans. Investigators interviewed a total of 946 youths, age 10 to 17, as they entered Texas Youth Commission (TYC) reception facilities. Results show that 81% of TYC youth have used illicit substances--51% in their last month on the…