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Given the widely expanding professional and empirical support for integrating spirituality into counseling, the authors present a practical discussion for raising counselors' general awareness and skill in the critical area of spiritual assessment. A discussion of rationale, measurement, and clinical practice is provided along with case examples. D. R. Hodge's (2001) spiritual life map is highlighted as an assessment tool. The authors also discuss the influence of counselor-client values and beliefs in therapy and the need to incorporate developmental and cultural influences in spiritual assessment.

Many anthropogenic inputs, such as municipal wastewater effluents (MWWEs), affect stable isotope signatures (δ13C and δ15N) at the base of exposed food webs creating spatial patterns reflecting their incorporation into aquatic food webs. The Grand River in southern Ontario, Canada, is a heavily modified, rapidly urbanizing river that assimilates wastewater from 30 municipal wastewater treatment plants. Stable isotope analysis was applied to resident aquatic invertebrates and fish influenced by three different wastewater outfalls in early, middle, and late summer to determine how values shifted seasonally and with differing effluent quality. There was a slight increase in δ13C in both invertebrates and fish in late summer downstream from the three outfalls, but it is difficult to separate effects of the effluents from downstream gradients. Downstream of two of the three outfalls, the δ15N tended to increase relative to upstream, while the remaining effluent, of the poorest quality, decreased δ15N values of both invertebrates and fish. Spatial trends in stable isotopes became more pronounced as the summer progressed with the greatest between-site differences occurring in late summer. This study reflects the complex nutrient dynamics associated with MWWE inputs to rivers and contributes to our understanding and application of stable isotope analysis in impacted lotic ecosystems. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was a cross-sectional study of spirituality and views of God as predictors of subjective well-being (SWB) over and above a comprehensive measure of personality. The total sample of 321 participants consisted of 121 Catholic religious women and 200 Jesuit seminarians in India whose overall mean age was 34 years. Family of origin backgrounds of the participants were severely impoverished economically. Hierarchical multiple regression found that personality explained a significant amount of variance for all three facets of SWB including positive affect, negative affect, and cognitive well-being. Faith maturity and positive God image each contributed significant independent variance in predicting increased positive affect and cognitive well-being. Negative God-image, in contrast, predicted reduced positive affect and cognitive well-being, and increased negative affect. Analysis by gender indicated that spirituality and God image predict differentially to subjective well-being components for men and women. The findings replicate cross-culturally the utility of viewing spiritual transcendence as related to human flourishing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of metalloids and heavy metals in the environment is of critical concern due to their toxicological impacts. However, not all metallic species have the same risk level. Specifically, the physical, chemical, and isotopic speciation of the metal(loids) dictate their metabolism, toxicity, and environmental fate. As such, speciation analysis is critical for environmental monitoring and risk assessment. In the past two decades, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has seen significant developments regarding trace metal(loid) sensing due to its ultrahigh sensitivity, readiness for in situ real-time applications, and cost-effectiveness. However, the speciation of metal(loid)s has not been accounted for in the design and application of SERS sensors. In this Perspective, we examine the potential of SERS for metal(loid) speciation analysis and highlight the advantages, progress, opportunities, and challenges of this application.

Dissolvable polymeric microneedles (DPMNs) have emerged as a powerful technology for the localized treatment of diseases, such as melanoma. Herein, we fabricated a DPMN patch containing a potent enzyme-nanozyme composite that transforms the upregulated glucose consumption of cancerous cells into lethal reactive oxygen species via a cascade reaction accelerated by endogenous chloride ions and external near-infrared (NIR) irradiation. This was accomplished by combining glucose oxidase (Gox) with a NIR-responsive chloroperoxidase-like copper sulfide (CuS) nanozyme. In contrast with subcutaneous injection, the microneedle system highly localizes the treatment, enhancing nanomedicine uptake by the tumor and reducing its systemic exposure to the kidneys and spleen. NIR irradiation further controls the potency and toxicity of the formulation by thermally disabling Gox. In a mouse melanoma model, this unique combination of photothermal, starvation, and chemodynamic therapies resulted in complete tumor eradication (99.2 ± 0.8 % reduction in tumor volume within 10 d) without producing signs of systemic toxicity. By comparison, other treatment combinations only resulted in a 42-76.5 % reduction in tumor growth. The microneedle patch design is therefore not only highly potent but also with regulated toxicity and improved safety., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

As an effective antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase (SOD) has been widely used as a food supplement, cosmetic additive, and therapeutic agent. However, oral delivery of SOD is challenging due to its relative instability, limited bioavailability, and low absorption efficiency in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. We addressed these issues using a highly stable superoxide dismutase (hsSOD) generated from a hot spring microbial sample. This SOD exhibited a specific activity of 5000 IU/mg while retaining its enzymatic activity under low pH environments of an artificial GI system and in the presence of surfactants and various proteolytic enzymes. The inhibitory effects of hsSOD against skin-aging was evaluated under both in vitro and in vivo experiments using fibroblast cell and D-galactose induced aging-mouse models, respectively. Effective oral delivery of hsSOD promises wide applicability in pharmaceutical and food industries., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: As per the policy of Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy and our ethical obligation as researchers, we disclose that Y. Chen, L. Gu, and M. Gan, who are coauthors of this paper, are employees of Shenzhen Siyomicro BIO-TECH CO., Ltd. The research reported in this paper may potentially affect the interests of their employer. We have fully disclosed these potential conflicts to Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy. Based on the ethical policies of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Cape Breton University, we have taken measures to manage and address these conflicts., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

Introduction: Given the hepatitis C virus (HCV) burden and despite curative treatments, more efforts focused on scaling-up testing and treatment in homeless populations are needed. This project aimed to implement education and flexible on-site HCV testing, treatment, and follow-up for a homeless population in south London and to evaluate engagement, therapy initiation, and cure rates., Methods: A mobile unit (van) for on-site HCV education, screening, treatment, and follow-up was placed on the street in a well-known homeless population areas from January 2018 to September 2021. Homeless was defined as living in temporary housing (hostel/hotel-based) or living on the street (street-based). Sociodemographic status, risk factors, comorbidities, concomitant medication, and data related with HCV treatment were recorded. Univariable and multivariable modeling were performed for treatment initiation and sustained virological response (SVR)., Results: Nine hundred forty homeless people were identified and 99.3% participated. 56.2% were street-based, 243 (26%) tested positive for HCV antibody, and 162 (17.4%) were viremic. Those with detectable HCV RNA had significantly more frequent psychiatric disorders, active substance use disorders, were on opioid agonist treatment, had advanced fibrosis, and had lower rates of previous treatment in comparison with undetectable HCV RNA. Overall treatment initiation was 70.4% and SVR was 72.8%. In the multivariable analysis, being screened in temporary housing (odds ratio [OR] 3.166; P = 0.002) and having opioid agonist treatment (OR 3.137; P = 0.004) were positively associated with treatment initiation. HCV treatment adherence (OR 26.552; P < 0.001) was the only factor associated with achieving SVR., Discussion: Promoting education and having flexible and reflex mobile on-site testing and treatment for HCV in the homeless population improve engagement with the health care system, meaning higher rates of treatment initiation and SVR. However, street-based homeless population not linked with harm reduction services are less likely to initiate HCV treatment, highlighting an urgent need for a broad health inclusion system., (Copyright © 2022 by The American College of Gastroenterology.)

Cryptococcus is a rare pathogenic fungus that is known primarily for causing meningeal and pulmonary disease in immunocompromised patients. There are scarce reports of other varieties of cryptococcal infections, such as disseminated and peritoneal disease. Here we present a very rare case of an elderly female patient with a history of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) cirrhosis who presented with symptoms of dyspnea and abdominal distention and was found to have Cryptococcus neoformans pleuritis and peritonitis without evidence of disseminated disease. The patient was treated with antifungals consisting of amphotericin and flucytosine followed by fluconazole. This case describes a previously unknown pattern of disease spread and adds to the body of knowledge on Cryptococcus . Additionally, it reinforces growing evidence in the literature that cirrhosis is a risk factor for Cryptococcus ., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest There is no conflict of interest., (© 2023 Greater Baltimore Medical Center.)

Microneedles (MN) technology is an emerging technology for the transdermal delivery of therapeutics. When combined with photoresponsive (PR) materials, MNs can deliver therapeutics precisely and effectively with enhanced efficacy or synergistic effects. This review systematically summarizes the therapeutic applications of PRMNs in cancer therapy, wound healing, diabetes treatment, and diagnostics. Different PR approaches to activate and control the release of therapeutic agents from MNs are also discussed. Overall, PRMNs are a powerful tool for stimuli-responsive controlled-release therapeutic delivery to treat various diseases., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest TDN has conflict of interest with PiezoBioMembrane Inc. and SingleTimeMicroneedles Inc., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Although liposomes have demonstrated significant clinical success as drug delivery vehicles, pharmacokinetic (PK) profiling of liposomal nanomedicines remains difficult due to technical challenges accurately measuring low concentrations of free drug in complex biological matrices. Microdialysis (MD) is well established as a powerful in vivo sampling tool for PK studies, but non-volatile salts present in the microdialysate are incompatible with mass spectrometry (MS) analysis without tedious sample pre-treatment. To address this issue, a µSPE-based microfluidic chip was fabricated to interface MD with MS. By incorporating PEG 20,000 as an effective anti-foulant, the µSPE-based microfluidic chip demonstrated excellent efficiencies in drug extraction and de-salting of the microdialysate, providing a promising approach to real-time monitoring of nanomedicine PK profiles., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Multimodal nanotherapeutic cancer treatments are widely studied but are often limited by their costly and complex syntheses that are not easily scaled up. Herein, a simple formulation of glucose-oxidase-coated CuS nanoparticles was demonstrated to be highly effective for melanoma treatment, acting through a synergistic combination of glucose starvation, photothermal therapy, and synergistic advanced chemodynamic therapy enabled by near-infrared irradiation coupled with Fenton-like reactions that were enhanced by endogenous chloride.

Unwanted biofilms present challenges for many industries. Herein an innovative biofilm removal technology was developed based on nitrite-accelerated Fenton chemistry, where both dissolved Cu ions and nano-CuO surfaces efficiently generate reactive nitrogen species as disinfectants. This simple, efficient, and cost-effective approach for biofilm removal generates important insights into Fenton chemistry, a fundamental mechanism in nature, considering the ubiquity of copper, hydrogen peroxide, and nitrite in the environment, biological systems, and various industrial processes.