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The presence of Ferrous ions is essential in Electro-Fenton (EF) and Photoelectro-Fenton (PEF) processes. To avoid the use of iron salts as precursors for the homogeneous Fenton process, iron was electrochemically deposited on a high surface area activated carbon (AC) material as previously reported by Santiago et al. for Pt-C particles. In this study, a novel rotating disk-slurry electrode (RoDSE) technique is employed to electrochemically prepare bulk iron/carbon (Fe/AC) material while avoiding a constant contact of the carbon support with an electrode surface. The electrochemically prepared Fe/AC was characterized, used to prepare an electrode and electrochemical experiments were performed to examine its performance as a cathode material for Electro- and Photoelectro-Fenton processes using a typical dye aqueous solution as a model effluent. The Fe/AC material exhibited a more complete (98%) and faster degradation performance, demonstrating that the use of the novel RoDSE technique is an effective method for preparing bulk quantities of activated carbon-supported iron for heterogeneous EF and PEF applications via an electrochemical route. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: Despite cannabis use among adolescents has shown to be related to psychosocial and mental health problems, the demand from adolescents for professional help is very low, and determinants of motivation for change among nonclinical populations remain unknown. The purpose of this study was to assess motivation for change among young cannabis users and to identify determinants of intention to change and self-change, as well as perceived barriers to seeking professional help. Methods: 261 cannabis users aged 16-21 participated in a computerized survey in Spain. Results: Data from this cross-sectional study indicated that few users intend to stop taking the drug. Determining factors of intention to change were the following: having more drug-related problems, paranoid symptomatology and greater concern about the consequences of use. Self-change was facilitated by lower use of cannabis, and could be hindered by tobacco smoking and cannabis dependence. Lack of awareness of the problems and the desire to solve one's problems alone constitute the main barriers to seeking professional help. Conclusions: Adolescent cannabis users show low motivation for change though experiencing more problems associated with its use emerges as a determinant of increased motivation. Several barriers impede this motivation from turning into treatment demand. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Craving is considered one of the main factors responsible for relapse after smoking cessation. Cue exposure therapy (CET) consists of controlled and repeated exposure to drug-related stimuli in order to extinguish associated responses. The main objective of this study was to assess the validity of 7 virtual reality environments for producing craving in smokers that can be used within the CET paradigm. Forty-six smokers and 44 never-smokers were exposed to 7 complex virtual environments with smoking-related cues that reproduce typical situations in which people smoke, and to a neutral virtual environment without smoking cues. Self-reported subjective craving and psychophysiological measures were recorded during the exposure. All virtual environments with smoking-related cues were able to generate subjective craving in smokers, while no increase was observed for the neutral environment. The most sensitive psychophysiological variable to craving increases was heart rate. The findings provide evidence of the utility of virtual reality for simulating real situations capable of eliciting craving. We also discuss how CET for smoking cessation can be improved through these virtual tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of the present study were to analyze the pattern of tobacco use among Spanish adolescents, as well as to determine gender differences in specific risk factors of cigarette use. The study sample was made up of 1,483 boys and 1,358 girls, aged 12-16 (M = 14). Participants were asked to answer an ad-hoc instrument to evaluate the pattern of use, perceived availability, risk of harm, family- and peer-use, engagement in leisure activities, drive for thinness, and self-esteem. Results showed no gender differences in the pattern of use. With regard to risk and protector factors, a predictive analysis showed that peer-related variables were the most determinant for tobacco use both for boys and girls. Some gender differences were also detected: Playing sports was protective for boys only, and listening to music for girls only. Drive for thinness and self-esteem were not related to tobacco use for either boys or girls. These findings help increase our understanding of smoking risk factors in adolescence and to pay special attention to the group of friends when planning prevention programs to reduce risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we present the addiction severity profile in a sample of 202 cocaine addicts, using the composite scores for each area of the EuropASI (European version of the ASI), which are compared with the severity ratings obtained through interviewers' subjective assessments. The results showed that the areas of the EuropASI which reflected the greatest severity according to the composite scores were, in the following order: employment/support, family/social situation, use of alcohol and psychiatric state. The results obtained with the composite scores show discrepancies with those obtained from the severity rating. Statistically significant differences were found in the areas of alcohol (Z = -6.205; p < 0.001), drugs (Z = -11.902; p < 0.001), family/social (Z = -6.915; p < 0.001) and psychiatric status (Z = -6.651; p < 0.001). The results call into question the reliability and validity of severity ratings obtained through interviewers' subjective assessments. For diagnosis and research, a more objective appraisal is recommended, using composite scores, since severity ratings depend totally on the interviewer's judgement, and do not appear to constitute a sound measure for estimating therapeutic change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic malignancy in Puerto Rico and the United States (US). Methods We compare the age-specific and age-adjusted incidence and mortality rates and the survival of endometrial cancer in Puerto Rico with that of non-Hispanic whites (NHW), non-Hispanic blacks (NHB) and Hispanics in the US. Data from the Puerto Rico Central Cancer Registry and the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program were analyzed from 1992-2003. Results Age-standardized incidence rates of endometrial cancer increased significantly (p < 0.05) in Puerto Rico (APC = 2.8%) and among NHB (APC = 1.9%) and remained constant (p > 0.05) for NHW (APC = -0.1%) and Hispanics in the US (APC = 0.4%). Mortality trends remained constant in all racial/ethnic groups (p > 0.05). For 1999-2003, women in Puerto Rico had similar incidence of endometrial cancer as Hispanics (Standardized rate ratio [SRR] = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.87-1.01), although their risk was lower than that of NHW (SRR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.53-0.59) and NHB (SRR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.84-0.98). Meanwhile, women in Puerto Rico had 15% higher risk of death than Hispanic women (SRR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.03-1.30) similar risk than NHW (SRR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.83-1.03), and lower risk than NHB (SRR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.46-0.57). Puerto Rico (63.1%) and NHB (56.8%) had a lower 5-year survival than NHW (78.4%) and Hispanics (79.5%). An age-adjusted Cox proportional hazards model showed that compared with women in Puerto Rico, Hispanic women in the United States had 37% lower mortality risk (HR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.56-0.71) and NHW had 53% lower mortality risk (HR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.43-0.52) after 5 years of diagnosis; NHB women had 22% higher mortality risk than women in Puerto Rico (HR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.09-1.36). Conclusions The lower burden of endometrial cancer in Puerto Rico suggests the presence of protective factors or lower exposure to risk factors in this population, although increases in incidence suggest changes in the occurrence of lifestyles and environmental risk factors. Meanwhile, the lower five-year survival from endometrial cancer among Puerto Ricans suggests a health disparity for this group in areas such as quality of care and/or differences in terms of stage at diagnosis and associated comorbidities. Assessment of disease risk factors and characteristics, and access and response to treatment is required to further understand these results.