Search

Background: Loss of belongingness may be particularly pronounced for women veterans, representing a threat to long-term well-being. Improvements in social support through engagement in a structured peer support program may mitigate the negative effects of loss of belongingness on well-being., Objective: We assessed the impact of participation in a peer-led, structured, social support group-based network on outcomes related to well-being [i.e., belongingness, social support, quality of life, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression]. Subgroup analyses examined relative impact among those who completed the intervention and those reporting clinical levels of PTSD and depression symptoms., Methods: We analyzed survey data consisting of reliable and valid measures collected at baseline, postgroup and 3-month follow-up among 393 participants in the Woven Veterans Network's (WoVeN) group program., Results: We observed improvements in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms over time. We observed additional benefits among those who received an adequate dose of the intervention (significant improvements on PTSD, belongingness) and those with clinical levels of mental health symptoms (significant improvements on PTSD, depression, belongingness, quality of life)., Conclusions: Impacts on social support may have been masked due to ceiling effects given wide dispersion baseline social support in this sample. This social support network had particularly profound impacts on well-being for those veterans who suffered from conditions for which isolation and loneliness are particularly salient., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.​

Hydrogel based devices belong to the group of swelling controlled drug delivery systems. Temperature responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-poly(vinylpyrrolidinone) random copolymers were produced by free radical polymerisation, using 1-hydroxycyclohexylphenyketone as an ultraviolet-light sensitive initiator, and poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate as the crosslinking agent (where appropriate). The hydrogels were synthesised to have lower critical solution temperatures (LCST) near body temperature, which is favourable particularly for 'smart' drug delivery applications. Two model drugs (diclofenac sodium and procaine HCl) were entrapped within these xerogels, by incorporating the active agents prior to photopolymerisation. The properties of the placebo samples were contrasted with the drug-loaded copolymers at low levels of drug integration. Modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC), attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to investigate the influence of the drugs incorporated on the solid-state properties of the xerogels. MDSC and swelling studies were carried out to ascertain their effects on the LCST and swelling behaviour of the hydrated samples. In all cases, drug dissolution analysis showed that the active agent was released at a slower rate at temperatures above the phase transition temperature. Finally, preliminary in vitro cytotoxicity evaluations were performed to establish the toxicological pattern of the gels.

A portable system using light-induced fluorescence technology (LIF) was development as an analytical tool for on-line monitoring of various manufacturing process applications. The LIF system was verified in several laboratory scale process applications specifically in noninvasive real-time observations of blend kinetics in tumbler blenders. This technology, through careful selection of filters for specific formulations, can provide clean and unadulterated raw data that shows the actual blend characteristic behavior of powder mixtures such as homogeneity end point and blend stability. Consistent blend homogeneity end point was demonstrated for all runs with LIF where data were verified by thief sampling and UV spectrophotometric assays. A correlation between LIF signal and drug powder concentration was established with limits of detection below 0.02% w/w for the API, Triamterene., (Copyright 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)