Includes subject area sections that describe all pertinent census data products available, i.e. "Business--trade and services", "Geography", "Transportation," etc.

Cocaine produces its psychoactive & addictive effects primarily by acting on the brain¿s limbic system, a set of interconnected regions that regulate pleasure & motivation. An initial, short-term effect -- a buildup of the neurochemical dopamine -- gives rise to euphoria & a desire to take the drug again. Researchers are seeking to understand how cocaine¿s many longer term effects produce addiction¿s persistent cravings & risk of relapse. This paper focuses on the buildup of the genetic transcription factor DeltaFosB in the limbic system which correlate with addiction-like behaviors in mice & may precipitate very long-lasting changes to nerve cell structure. This is one of the first steps toward an understanding of the transition from cocaine abuse to addiction.

Mood disorders (MD), including depression & bipolar disorders, are the most common psychiatric comorbidities among patients with substance abuse (SA) disorders. Treating patients¿ co-occurring MD may reduce their substance craving & enhance their overall outcomes. A staged screening & assessment can ease the diagnostic challenge of distinguishing symptoms of affective MD from manifestations of SA intoxication & withdrawal. Treatment should maximize the use of psychotherapeutic interventions & give first consideration to medications proven effective in the context of co-occurring SA. Expanded commun. & collab. between SA & mental health providers is crucial to improving outcomes for patients with these difficult disorders. Illus

Long-run changes in total hrs. of work (HoW) in OECD countries exceed the variation of hrs. worked over the bus. cycle in a representative country by almost an order of magnitude. If understanding changes in HoW for the magnitude of bus. cycle fluctuations is an important policy concern, then understanding the sources of these trend differences is also crucial. The authors describe the steep decline in avg. hrs. worked & the large variation across countries in the magnitude of this decline. Changes in labor taxes account for a large share of the trend differences. Countries with high tax rates devote less time to market work, but more time to home activities, such as cooking & cleaning, which is much stronger for females than for males. Illus.

From the beginning of 2003 through the first quarter of 2006, real gross domestic product in the U.S. grew at an average annual rate of 3.4% As expected, unemployment during the period fell. Over the course of the next year, average growth slowed to less than half its earlier rate -- but unemployment continued to drift downward. This situation presented a puzzle, who expected the unemployment rate to increase as the economy slowed. This negative correlation between GDP growth & unemployment has been named ¿Okun¿s law.¿ This article considers the usefulness of Okun¿s law for policymakers & economists. Okun¿s relationship can be useful as a forecasting tool -- provided that one takes its instability into account. Charts & tables.

Evaluates the planning, award, & admin. of the Central Incident Response Capability (CIRC) contract of the The Dept. of Vet. Affairs (VA). This audit determined whether the contract was properly planned & awarded; administered effectively; & reasonably priced. The contract was to provide state-of-the-practice incident handling & response capabilities for the entire VA. VA had to expand the existing CIRC to a broader, world-class operational environment to assure confidentiality, integrity, availability, & privacy of information & services for Veterans. The report identified weaknesses in the planning, award, & admin. of the contract that ultimately resulted in the demise of the contract for lack of funding after less than three years. Tables.

The economy of the 10th Fed. Reserve Dist. (based in Kansas City, MO) has become more services-based in recent years. While this transformation has lessened many of the historical differences with the rest of the nation, the regional economy still remains distinct. What industries make the 10th Dist. so different, & what can they tell us about the future of the regional economy? This essay examines the ¿defining¿ industries of the region. It finds that the performance of a relatively small group of these industries track closely with overall job growth in each state. In other words, states whose defining industries have prospered in recent years have grown quickly overall, while states whose defining industries have struggled have grown sluggishly. Tables.