Crystal meth has been an illicit drug for many years but did not surface as a problem until the 1990s. Between 200 and 2006, a number of provincial documents were produced in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan to examine this problem. A shift appeared to have occurred in terms of how to handle this situation. Traditionally, illicit drugs such as crystal meth were dealt with by the criminal justice system; however, in this case, provincial health departments prepared these documents. The intent of this thesis is to examine these documents by providing a discourse analysis and applying concepts from Foucault, vanDijk and Phillips and Hardy. Three questions are asked: (i) who are the voices of these documents? (ii) who is identified as being at risk? and (iii) how is crystal meth socially constructed and what solutions are presented? All three provinces identify the same at risk population, our youth. British Columbia and Saskatchewan construct crystal meth as an educational and health problem, while Alberta focuses mainly on crystal meth as being a criminal problem. This research concludes that the solutions offered by the various experts from these provinces are unrealistic. The social determinants of health such as adequate income, housing and employment opportunities are discussed in these provincial documents however, nothing concrete is provided. Saskatchewan is the only province to commit money to finance new programs to assist with the crystal meth problem.

Crystal meth has been an illicit drug for many years but did not surface as a problem until the 1990s. Between 200 and 2006, a number of provincial documents were produced in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan to examine this problem. A shift appeared to have occurred in terms of how to handle this situation. Traditionally, illicit drugs such as crystal meth were dealt with by the criminal justice system; however, in this case, provincial health departments prepared these documents. The intent of this thesis is to examine these documents by providing a discourse analysis and applying concepts from Foucault, vanDijk and Phillips and Hardy. Three questions are asked: (i) who are the voices of these documents? (ii) who is identified as being at risk? and (iii) how is crystal meth socially constructed and what solutions are presented? All three provinces identify the same at risk population, our youth. British Columbia and Saskatchewan construct crystal meth as an educational and health problem, while Alberta focuses mainly on crystal meth as being a criminal problem. This research concludes that the solutions offered by the various experts from these provinces are unrealistic. The social determinants of health such as adequate income, housing and employment opportunities are discussed in these provincial documents however, nothing concrete is provided. Saskatchewan is the only province to commit money to finance new programs to assist with the crystal meth problem.

The rewarding properties of drugs in the mammalian system depend on their ability to activate appetitive motivational states. The associated underlying mechanism is strongly conserved in evolution and invertebrates have recently emerged as a powerful new model in addiction research. The natural reward system in crayfish has surprisingly proven sensitive to human drugs of abuse, providing a new model for research into the basic biological mechanisms of drug addiction. In this study, we examined the presence of natural reward systems in crayfish, and then characterized its sensitivity to 2.5 μg/g, 5.0 μg/g and 10.0 μg/g doses of methamphetamine (METH). Using the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm, we demonstrated that irrespective of the number of doses of METH injected into the pericardial system, crayfish seek out a particular tactile environment that had previously been paired with the METH. This study demonstrates that crayfish offer a comparative and complementary approach in addiction research. It contributes an evolutionary context to our understanding of a key component in learning and of natural reward as an important life-sustaining process.

Der Crystal-Meth-Konsum in Deutschland ist ein ernstzunehmendes und wachsendes Problem. Insbesondere grenznah zu Tschechien liegende Bundesländer wie Thüringen, Sachsen und Bayern sind betroffen. Was bisher jedoch nicht genau bekannt war, ist der Prozentsatz derer, die tatsächlich Crystal Meth konsumierten. Das Besondere an dieser Datenerhebung war, dass alle SchülerInnen in den oberen Klassenstufen des Altenburger Lands, ein ländlich gelegener Landkreis in der Nähe zur Tschechischen Grenze im Bun-desland Thüringen, zu ihrem Konsumverhalten, sozioökonomischen und familiären Hin-tergrund im Sinne einer Querschnittsstudie befragt wurden (n=920). Die SchülerInnen der oberen Klassenstufen an drei verschiedenen Schulformen (Haupt-schule/Regelschule (9. Klasse), Regelschule (10. Klasse), Gymnasium (10. Klasse) und Berufsschule (ersten beiden Klassen)) wurden mit Hilfe eines zweiseitigen, selbstauszu-füllenden Fragebogens befragt. Final konnten 920 Fragebögen ausgewertet werden (469 Mädchen, 451 Jungen, Altersdurchschnitt 16,650,07 Jahre (MittelwertStandardfehler), Standardabweichung: 2,2 Jahre, Median: 16 Jahre, Minimum: 13 Jahre, Maximum: 36), so dass 85,9 % der Befragten in die finale Auswertung eingeschlossen werden konnte. 85,3 % der befragten SchülerInnen gaben an, bereits Alkohol konsumiert zu haben, 29,8 % konsumierten Tabak, 25,7 % Cannabis, 4 % Ecstasy und 1,5 % Kokain. 5,8 % (n=53, 33 Mädchen, 20 Jungen) der SchülerInnen gaben an, bereits Crystal Meth konsumiert zu haben. Davon konsumierten 42,8 % bisher erst einmal, während 57 % be-reits einen häufigeren Konsum angaben. Der häufigste Probiergrund war spontan (53,8 %), gefolgt von Spaß haben (30,8 %) und Gruppenzwang (19 %). Die häufigsten Kon-sumarten waren nasal (65 %) und rauchen (30,4 %). Die Crystal-Meth-KonsumentInnen hatten signifikant häufiger Freunde, die ebenfalls Methamphetamine konsumierten im Vergleich zu Nicht-Crystal-Meth-KonsumentInnen (69,2 % vs. 16,8 %, p<0,01). Ebenso stammten die Crystal-Meth-KonsumentInnen signifikant häufiger aus einem Elternhaus, in dem die Eltern getrennt lebten oder geschieden waren (44,7 % vs. 67,4 %, p<0,01). Das Wissen um die Droge Crystal-Meth bezüglich Wirkungen und Abhängigkeit war insgesamt auf einem guten Niveau und lag bei den KonsumentInnen nicht niedriger als bei den Nicht-Crystal-Meth-KonsumentInnen. Zusammenfassend lässt sich sagen, dass es gewisse Risikokonstellationen im Umfeld der SchülerInnen gibt, die eher zu Drogenkonsum führen. Freunde zu haben, die Drogen konsumieren, scheint vor allem in Anbetracht der Tatsache, dass unter Jugendlichen der Freundeskreis eine große Rolle spielt, ein Risikofaktor für eigenen Drogenkonsum zu sein. Die Scheidung oder Trennung der Eltern und die damit einhergehende Schwächung des Selbstwirksamkeitsgefühls, scheint ebenso ein Risikofaktor dafür zu sein, Drogen zu konsumieren. Der Konsum von Tabak und Cannabis ist mit dem Crystal-Meth-Konsum assoziiert, was wiederum zeigt, dass man auch bei den sogenannten Einstiegsdrogen oder gesellschaftlich anerkannten Suchtmitteln wie Alkohol und Tabak Präventionsmaßnahmen finden sollte, um einerseits die gesundheitlichen Langzeitfolgen dieser Suchtmittel zu vermeiden, aber auch, um Jugendliche davor zu bewahren, von den Einstiegsdrogen auf weitere Suchtmittel umzusteigen. Um mögliche Präventionsmaßnahmen zu ergreifen, soll-ten vor allem auf das Elternhaus, den Freundeskreis und die sozialen Medien ein Schwer-punkt gelegt werden. In den Schulen könnte Prävention auf unterschiedliche Weise statt-finden: das Spektrum reicht von Lehrerfortbildung, Unterrichtseinheiten zu Drogen, die weniger auf reine Wissensvermittlung als vielmehr auf Alternativen zu Drogen und die emotionalen Faktoren setzen, bis hin zu Schulsozialarbeit. Insgesamt sollte der Drogen-prävention dadurch mehr Raum gegeben werden.

Always the Icarus is an experimental play in two acts depicting the road-trip journey of meth-fueled, anti-heroine, Cartla, and her best friend, J.A. –a Juggalo with a heart of gold. Cartla desperately needs to leave the Midwestern nothingness of Interior, South Dakota after having a premonition about the fate of America’s favorite T.V. food guy, Guy Fieri. The lines between memory and vivid hallucination become desperately scrambled for the young, twisted duo as they venture from stop to stop along the lucid route to Anaheim, California. With each passing stop, Cartla is confronted by her inescapable geo-historical and geo-familial coordinates as well as a whole slew of characters who refuse to accept the idea that the coveted “American dream” may be grossly out of reach for the forgotten “trash” of the nation. But who will be the saviors of the broken and the ambassadors of the underdogs? Do the maneuvers of the father undoubtedly scar the psyche of the oblivious, devoted child? Do mythologies leave room for less-tragic margins of error?Through a theatrical narrative form stressing cyclical language and interactions, audiences are urged to question whether the mythic Icarus will always fall from the soaring, sky-heights of heaven into the cold waters below.

No description available.

Over 110,000 known methamphetamine (meth) clandestine labs were reported in the U.S. from 1999 to 2008. The production of meth is regarded as a national epidemic, and can lead to substantial contamination of indoor materials. Due to its chemical and physical properties, meth residual can persist on indoor surfaces and in indoor air for prolonged periods. Unfortunately, most remediation techniques lack strong scientific support and cleanup standards are inconsistent across different states. A better understanding of the mechanistic interactions between meth and indoor environment can help improve remediation strategies and the development of regulations. In this study, equilibrium partitioning coefficients (Ke) between a meth surrogate and wall materials were estimated based on laboratory experiments. The resulting Ke values were then used in a screening model to predict meth decay rates from wall materials and indoor air. The effects of ventilation and indoor air mixing on meth off gassing were explored. / text

abstract: This dissertation explores the historical development and contemporary deployment of discursive practices that constitute the “truth” of addiction, which in turn serve as the bases for interventions into the lives of people who use intoxicants for any number of reasons. A number of interrelated research questions structure this governmentality analysis. First, what is the evolution of the governmental frames developed and deployed to understand, discipline, and recover addiction in the arena of alcohol and illicit drug use in United States? Second, how does twelve-step serve to transform unruly addicts into self-disciplining citizens? Finally, how does The Meth Project (TMP) exemplify and/or diverge from the dominant addiction governmental frames developed during the Temperance and Progressive eras in the United States? My overall goal is to destabilize our ready understanding of addiction and demonstrate that it is as much a tool of social needs as it is a mental illness by demonstrating: 1) the historically contingent nature of our understandings of addiction and addicts; 2) how these historically contingent understandings are actualized as technologies geared toward “recovering” unruly subjects; and 3) how these historically contingent understandings are taken up as “epistemological scripts” used to conceptualize the “true nature” of certain types of drugs and drug users while simultaneously supporting various regimes of discipline and punishment for those determined to remain “unruly subjects.” / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Justice Studies 2016

Yes / Developing medical devices that resist bacterial attachment and subsequent biofilm formation is highly desirable. In this paper, we report the optimization of the molecular structure and thus material properties of a range of (meth)acrylate copolymers which contain monomers reported to deliver bacterial resistance to surfaces. This optimization allows such monomers to be employed within novel coatings to reduce bacterial attachment to silicone urinary catheters. We show that the flexibility of copolymers can be tuned to match that of the silicone catheter substrate, by copolymerizing these polymers with a lower Tg monomer such that it passes the flexing fatigue tests as coatings upon catheters, that the homopolymers failed. Furthermore, the Tg values of the copolymers are shown to be readily estimated by the Fox equation. The bacterial resistance performance of these copolymers were typically found to be better than the neat silicone or a commercial silver containing hydrogel surface, when the monomer feed contained only 25 v% of the “hit” monomer. The method of initiation (either photo or thermal) was shown not to affect the bacterial resistance of the copolymers. Optimized synthesis conditions to ensure that the correct copolymer composition and to prevent the onset of gelation are detailed. / Impact Accelerators Account at the University of Nottingham; Camstent Ltd; The Wellcome Trust (ref 085245 and 103882)

City of Cheb, lying on crossroad of old trade roads, gains by favor of czcech kings and roman emperors many privileges supports trade activity. Sixteenth century was period of trade prosperity of this region: silver was discovered in Joachimsthal and some new deposits of tin. Prosperous mining areas are source of prosperity even for near and farther neighbourhoods, and on main route from western Europe lies Cheb. Assumed prosperity of trade shoud make impact on prosperity of city inhabitants, even city as a whole. Goal of this work is to analyze city income books (Umgeldbücher) and qualify and quantify income from trade and proportion of this income in whole city income.